Energy Security and Energy Securitization - Essay Example

? Energy security and energy securitization Energy security and energy securitization Introduction The continuous development of industrial activities worldwide has resulted to the increased needs for energy. In highly industrialized countries the problem is higher, leading to conflicts in regard to the ways that sources of energy could be secured either in the short or the long term. At the same time, the human needs for energy cannot be ignored. In countries with an extremely high population, such as China or India, allocating and securing energy could be considered as the most critical concern of the local governments. It should be noted that the distribution of energy sources worldwide is not equal, meaning that there are countries with high reserves of various forms of energy, or high potentials to produce energy, while for other countries the access to energy is problematic (Muller-Kraenner 2008). The inequality in regard to the energy sources available has caused severe conflicts among states worldwide, a phenomenon which was made particularly clear since the 1970s, the period of ‘oil shock’ (Bhattacharyya 2011, p.463). The above conflicts have led to the increase of risks in relation to the management of energy. Energy security has become a critical issue for all countries around the world; countries, which have developed strategic alliances within the international community, have been able to respond more effectively to the needs of energy security; for example, the case of the European Union (Checchi, Behrens, and Egenhofer 2009). The various aspects of energy security, as related to the energy securitization, are examined in this paper. The review of the literature published in the specific field proved that it is rather difficult for countries to meet all the requirements of energy security; moreover, energy security has been often used for promoting other interests, especially for serving the economic interests of individuals or institutions. The management of energy security should be based on the relevant principles and rules established by the international community. 2. Energy security and energy securitization 2.1 Energy security – characteristics and role Different approaches have been used in the literature in order to explain the context of energy security. In accordance with Tufa (2008) energy security can be described as ‘a reliable supply of energy at a sustainable cost’ (Tufa 2008, p.6). It seems that cost and reliability are two critical factors for defining energy security within the international community. This fact is verified through the definition of energy security given by Muller-Kraenner (2008); in accordance with the above definition, the energy security is considered as ‘the provision of reasonably priced, reliable and environmentally friendly energy’ (Muller-Kraenner 2008, p.4). It is noted that the term energy security may incorporate different elements in countries worldwide. For instance, in countries that are major oil producers, energy security reflects the ability of these countries ‘to maintain the security of demand’ (Tufa 2008, p.6). From a similar point of view, the term energy security can be used in order to describe the efforts of a nation to keep the price of its energy – related products low. On the other hand, Sovacool (2011) notes that energy security is related to the ability of a country to respond to its energy needs, so that: a) no problem would appear in regard to the survival of the specific nation (Sovacool 2011, p.78), b) the welfare of the country would not be threatened (Sovacool 2011, p.78), even if the characteristics of threat in the above case are not clearly described and c) the risks in regard to the management of energy sources within a country are minimized (Sovacool 2011, p.78). It is clear that the efforts to promote energy security are not standardized in countries worldwide. There are countries that consider energy security as a need justifying the development of severe conflicts; other countries seek for energy security urged by the expansion of globalization, which can threatens energy security in each state (Kay 2004). The establishment of international standards and principles in the management of energy security worldwide could lead to the limitation of military and political conflicts between states. At the same time, problems in regard to the management of energy security, such as: unexpected shortages of energy sources or high increase of price of energy, could be handled more effectively (Matthews & Tridgell 1986). 2.1.1 Energy cost security as part of energy security As already explained above, energy is highly related to the economic conditions of each country. At the next level, changes in energy supplies, as analyzed in the previous section, can lead to the differentiation of terms of energy security; countries that have been regarded as ‘secured’ in terms of energy may have to face energy shortages or increase of energy price. The differentiations in the energy sector of the seven most powerful energy suppliers worldwide are made clear in Graph 1 below. Figure 1 - Energy Sector Index, G7 (Source: Reuters 2011) The above diagram shows not just the status of energy, in terms of availability of energy reserves, but rather the financial aspects of energy, as a factor strongly influencing the economies of countries worldwide. The need for the decrease of cost in energy is emergent. The control of energy supplies by monopolies promotes the continuous increase of energy prices and the following turbulences in financial markets internationally. Creamer (2011) refers to the efforts made by governments and enterprises worldwide to develop alternative forms of energy, such as the hydrogen fuel cells (Creamer 2011), so that energy costs to be kept low, a fact that would highly benefit the economies of all states. Energy cost security is usually considered as having the following forms: a) the cost of energy supply, i.e. the cost for importing energy, referring especially to the measures required for ensuring the safety of the energy transportation, b) the cost of infrastructure used for reserving and distributing energy to the consumers (Gheorghe & Muresan 2011). At the same time energy cost security is expected to reflect the expenses required for developing any military action required for protecting or accessing energy (National Research Council 2010). Moreover, the energy cost security incorporates all potential losses resulting from the increase of energy prices worldwide (Bohi, Toman and Walls 1996), or even locally, as this increase is usually caused by the development of barriers in accessing the energy sources. 2.1.2 Energy supply security and energy demand security The promotion of energy security worldwide is closely related to energy supply. In fact, it is mostly through the increase of energy supplies that energy security can be guaranteed in the context of the international community (Pant 2010). At this point, the following issue appears: consumers are dispersed worldwide while the economic conditions of each country are differentiated. In this context, the promotion of energy security could be achieved only by ‘increasing integration and interdependence among the energy suppliers and consumers’ (Pant 2010, p.31). Energy supply security is characterized as ‘a variety of approaches aiming at ensuring against supply risks’ (Egenhofer & Legge 2001, p.3). In the context of this definition two are the key elements of energy supply: ‘the physical availability and the price’ (Egenhofer & Legge 2001, p.3). From another point of view, energy supply security has been related to the following terms: a) the adequacy of energy imports, meaning that the energy needs of a nation are adequately addressed (Beri and Sinha 2009) and b) the infrastructure available for reserving energy supplies is appropriate for being used in such task (OECD 2010). Energy supply security can also refer to the development of strategic alliances so that the access to energy sources is secured (Leveque 2010). Energy supply security is closely related to energy demand security. In order for the level of profits from energy to remain at high levels, positively influencing the local economy, it is necessary that energy demand is kept high (Bahgat 2011). In practice, energy demand security, refers to the development of policies that ensure that the demand for energy within a particular state are kept at a standard level, so that no turbulences are caused in terms of the country’s profits from the particular activity (Talus 2011). The importance of energy demand for the economy can be understood if taking into consideration the level of the profits resulted from this activity, and the contribution of these profits to the promotion of various national projects (Berrah 2007). Energy demand security can be achieved only if the conditions of the local economy are such that the consumption of energy within the particular state can remain high (Chapman and McCombie 2003, Price 2006). 2.1.3 How is energy security security related to energy securitization? Energy securitization refers not just to the allocation of energy sources or the protection of these sources, but also to the acquisition of the sources, or, at least, the development of rights, on the particular energy sources. Energy securitization is often regarded as a priority, in the terms that it can guarantee energy security for a long period of time (Brauch et al. 2009). At this point, several concerns exist: who would set the criteria on which energy securitization would be based? Existing international law in regard to the management of energy worldwide is often not clear, a fact that has allowed the development of military conflicts for securing the control on energy sources of critical importance (Underwood and Guth 1998). Most commonly, the national law sets the terms under which the management of energy is developed in the context of each state (Bahgat 2011). However, the relevant rules are often violated; the lack of control on the management of energy sources can be characterized as the major challenge for governments internationally Leveque, F. (2010). In this context, energy security should be differentiated from energy securitization. The survival of a nation should be based on the use of the country’s existing energy sources; the development of military missions for the control of energy sources in foreign countries should be prohibited, a problem which is considered as the major weakness of international law developed in this field. 2.1.4 Geological factors affecting energy security Energy security is highly related to geology. In fact, the geological characteristics of each country can highly affect the potentials of the country in terms of energy sources (Marcovitz 2011). Also, countries, which are highly exposed to severe geological events, such as earthquakes, need to take additional measures in regard to the storage of their energy reserves (OECD 2007). At the same time, the geological structure of a country can set barriers to non-authorized access, for instance in countries surrounding by mountains the threats against existing sources of energy are less compared to countries the access to which is quite easy (Sovacool 2011). In any case, the geological characteristics of a country indicate the potentials of the country to develop policies related to the production of energy, meaning the use of alternative sources of energy (Bjornebye 2010). 3. Conclusion The promotion of energy security in the context of the international community can be characterized as a challenging activity, being related to many different interests. The need of nations to secure their survival, an issue often related to energy security, cannot be ignored; however, limits should be set to the tools available and permitted to states in order to promote such projects. On the other hand, the limitation of safety worldwide has become a common phenomenon, mostly due to the expansion of terrorism, as for example the events of the September the 11th, an event that has changed the priorities of states in terms of security (Nogee, Clemmer & Donovan 2002). Moreover, the methods used for promoting energy security can also significantly affect the environment, a fact that has to be taken into consideration by policy makers worldwide (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis 2011). The increase of investment on green energy, as for example in the case in China (Melik 2011), proves that governments around the world are aware of the various aspects of energy security and are willing to support the effective management of energy in the context of the international community. In any case, energy security can have many, different, aspects influencing the environmental, the social and the economic conditions in each country. For this reason, it should not be mixed with other, even similar, frameworks, such as energy securitization, that focus on specific interests, because in this way, it would be possible for the priorities of energy security to be changed; energy security could not be used for justifying the violation of rights, but it would be based on specific principles and rules, ensuring the protection of public interest, which should be set above the interests of other stakeholders. References Bahgat, G. (2011). Energy Security: An Interdisciplinary Approach. 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Energy security: Europe's new foreign policy challenge. Oxon: Taylor & Francis. Read More