Course Description

The course will consist of weekly lectures and seminars, supplemented by the students’ own study. The course begins by introducing the basic elements of energy studies, to ensure that students from various disciplines attain the level of basic knowledge required to engage with the topics discussed throughout the remainder of the course.

During the course, students will become familiar with key concepts and approaches to the study of energy politics, the practical realities of the production, trade, and consumption of different forms of energy at the national, regional, and global levels. The students will also study the relationship between energy and politics at the domestic and international levels. These areas of study will be placed into a ‘real world’ context through the use of case studies relevant to Eurasia in general, and Russia in particular.

 

Teaching method

Each week will consist of one lecture and one seminar. The lectures will take place on Tuesdays and the seminars will take place on Thursdays.

In addition to these lectures and seminars, students are expected to engage in at least two hours per week of private study, in preparation for the seminars. During this private study time, students should review their lectures notes, read the core reading (approximately 30 pages), and read some of the further reading.

During their reading students should make notes and bring them to the seminars. The seminars are designed to be interactive discussion forums, in which the students will exchange opinions and ideas based on their private study.

Students will each deliver one presentation to their peers during one of the semester seminars.

 

Deadlines

Regular deadlines for VIU spring semester apply.

Seminar Instructors: Contact Details

Week 1-6: Irina Mironova (imironova@eu.spb.ru)

Week 7-12: Maxim Titov (mtitov@eu.spb.ru)

 

Course schedule and reading

Week 1. Introduction

This session introduces the course, its structure, and its aims. It will define the methods of examination, and the expectations of students’ self-study. It will also provide reading lists and sources of information relevant to each of the subsequent topics, and give students advice on using internet resources as a tool of study. Finally, this session will give a basic introduction to the different energy types, their characteristics, and the importance of each state’s ‘energy mix’, giving each student a basic platform on which to build their knowledge of energy politics, regardless of their previous experience.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What are the major types of energy resources?
2. What are the main differences between these resources?
3. How are each of these resources used?

Core Reading

Shepherd & Shepherd, 2003. Energy Studies. London: Imperial College Press. p. 97-103 (coal), 125-126 (Oil), 161-162 (Natural Gas), 226-229 (Nuclear).

Or:

Smil, V., 2006. Energy: A Beginner’s Guide. Oxford: OneWorld. Read Chapter 4: ‘Energy in the modern world: fossil-fuelled civilisation’, pp.85-127.

Week 2. The History and Geography of Energy 1845-1973

This session considers the ‘age of oil’ from the beginnings of commercial oil production in the mid-nineteenth century until the oil price shocks of 1973, with particular focus on Russia, the United States, and the Middle East as major oil production centres. this session also considers the development of electricity generation from the late nineteenth century, and its influence on primary energy consumption.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What was the ‘golden age of oil’ and what caused it to end?
2. Which energy resources were the most widely used in the mid-19^th century? Why?
3. What developments influenced the increased use of oil in the early 20^th century?

Core Reading

Maugeri, L., 2006. The Age of Oil: The Mythology, History, and Future of the World’s Most Controversial Resource. Westport, CT: Prager. p.77-102.

Further Reading

Parra, 2004. Oil Politics: A Modern History of Petroleum. New York: I.B. Tauris. p.1-174.

Yergin, D., 1990. The Prize. New York: Simon & Schuster. p.19-560.

Week 3. The History and Geography of Energy 1973 to the Present

This session examines the development of natural gas and nuclear energy production and consumption, and the impact of fluctuating international oil prices on broader energy consumption. Concludes with a consideration of the current global distribution of coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power production and consumption.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What was the oil crisis of 1973? What was the long-term legacy of this crisis?
2. How has the global energy mix changed since the 1970s? Which fuels are used more often, and why? Which fuels are cheaper, and which are more expensive?
3. How has the global trade in energy changed over the last 40 years?
4. What are the trends that have been established over the past four decades, and which of these might continue into the future?

Core Reading

Maugeri, L., 2006. The Age of Oil: The Mythology, History, and Future of the World’s Most Controversial Resource. Westport, CT: Prager. p.103-132.

Further Reading

Parra, F., 2004. Oil Politics: A Modern History of Petroleum. New York: Tauris. p.175-347.

Yergin, D., 1990. The Prize. New York: Simon & Schuster. p.563-781.

Week 4. Approaches to the Study of Energy Politics

This session examines a variety of approaches to the study of energy politics from the fields of International Political Economy and International Relations.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What is theory and how does it help us to analyse empirical data and case studies, such as energy relations between countries?
2. Summarise, in 2-3 sentences, each of the theoretical approaches to energy studies: Political Economy, Geopolitics, Security Studies, [Neo]Realism, [Neo]Liberalism, and Social Constructivism
3. What are quantitative and qualitative data? How are they used in energy studies?
4. What is ‘critical analysis’?

Core Reading

Aron, L., 2013. The political economy of Russian oil and gas. [pdf] American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, p.1-7

Dannreuther, R., 2010. International Relations Theories: Energy, Minerals and Conflict. [pdf] EU Policy on Natural Resources (POLINARES) Working Paper № 8, p.1-17

Klare, 2008. Rising powers, shrinking planet: How scarce energy is creating a new world order. Oxford: Oneworld (Chapter 1, p.9-32)

Further Reading

Griffiths eds, 2007. International Relations Theory for the 21^st Century. Abingdon: Routledge. (In particular, see the chapters on Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, and International Political Economy)

Victor, Jaffe, and Hayes, 2006. Natural gas and geopolitics. Cambridge: University Press

Week 5. Comparing International Oil and Gas Markets

Oil and natural gas are two of the most widely-traded fuel on the global market. Their characteristics are rather different, yet their markets are also closely linked. This session examines the similarities and differences between oil and gas as fuels (such as their physical characteristics and how they are used). The session then considers how these similarities and differences influence the dynamics of the global oil and gas markets, and analyses the extent to which these markets are linked, and influence each other.

Core Reading

Markus, U., 2016. The international oil and gas pricing regimes. In: T. Van De Graaf et al eds, The Palgrave Handbook of the International Political Economy of Energy. Basingstoke: Palgrave. p.225-246.

Further Reading

Carollo, S., 2012. Understanding oil prices: A guide to what drives the price of oil in today’s markets. Chichester: Wiley, p.1-21

Stern, J., and Rogers, H., 2014. The Dynamics of a Liberalised European Gas Market: Key determinants of hub prices, and roles and risks of major players. [pdf] Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (December 2014).

Week 6. Actors and Governance in International Energy Politics

This session examines the roles of states, supranational organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, and energy companies in the system of international energy politics, and the systems of governance that constrain and enable those actors.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What is the role of energy companies in international energy politics?
2. What is the role of states in international energy politics?
3. What is the role of supranational organizations (such as the EU, G8, and World Trade Organisation) in international energy politics?
4. What is ‘governance’ in international energy trade and politics?

Core Reading

Goldthau, A., and Witte, J.A., eds, 2010. Global Energy Governance: The New Rules of the Game. Berlin: Global Public Policy Institute/Washington: Brookings Institute. Read Chapter One (p.1-25) and Chapter Sixteen (p.341-357).

Further Reading

Florini, A., and Sovacool, B.K., 2009. Who governs energy? The challenges facing global energy governance. Energy Policy, 37 (12), p.5239-5248.

Maltby, T., 2013. European Union policy integration: A case of European Commission policy entrepreneurship and increasing supranationalism. Energy Policy, 55, p.435-444.

Pirog, R., 2007. The role of national oil companies in the international oil market. [pdf] United States Congressional Research Service, p.2-16

Selivanova. Y., 2007. The WTO and Energy: WTO rules and agreements of relevance to the energy sector. [pdf], p.1-34

Week 7. National Energy Policies

This session assesses how national governments formulate their energy policies, balancing a number of competing political, economic, and social interests. Includes case studies of different states, which face different challenges and have responded with different energy policies.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What is the central purpose of a state’s energy policy?
2. How influential are states’ energy policies over their energy sectors?
3. Which interests are evident in state energy policy, and which actors lobby in favour of these interests?

Core Reading

Aalto, P., Dusseault, D., Kennedy, D., and Kivinen, M., 2012. Russia’s energy relations in Europe and the Far East. Journal of International Relations and Development, p.1-25

Energy Information Agency, 2016. Country Profile: Russian Federation. [pdf] Energy Information Administration, p.1-21. Available at: <https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis.cfm?iso=RUS> [Accessed 12 April 2017]

Further Reading

Government of the Russian Federation, 2009. Energy strategy of the Russian Federation to 2030. [pdf] Available at: <http://www.energystrategy.ru/projects/docs/ES-2030_(Eng).pdf> [Accessed 12 April 2017], p.10-59.

Gould, T., 2011. A Russian Energy Outlook. [Presentation] OECD/IEA.

International Energy Agency, 2017. Country Statistics: Russian Federation. [online] Available at: < http://www.iea.org/statistics/statisticssearch/> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

Week 8. Energy Security

This session focuses on the theory and practice of energy security, including multiple definitions of energy security.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What does the concept of ‘energy security’ mean?
2. How do energy producers/exporters and energy consumers/importers differ in their views on energy security?
3. How do concerns over energy security relate to the issues of environmental protection, climate change, and economic growth?

Core Reading

Cherp, A., and Jewell, J., 2014. The concept of energy security: Beyond the four As. Energy Policy, 75, 415-421.

Jewell, J., 2011. Model of Short-Term Energy Security (MOSES). International Energy Agency. [pdf] Available at: <https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/the-iea-model-of-short-term-energy-security.html> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

Sovacool, B., and Saunders, H., 2014. Competing policy packages and the complexity of energy security. Energy, 67(1), 641-651.

Further Reading

Kaveshnikov, N., 2012. Many Sides of Energy Security. International Affairs, p.143-156

Luft, G., and Korin, A, ‘Energy Security: In the Eyes of the Beholder’ In: Luft & Korin, 2009. Energy Security Challenges for the 21^st Century: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Pascual & Elkind eds, 2010. Energy security: Economics, politics, strategies, and implications. Washington: Brookings

Sharples, J.D., 2012. Russian-Polish energy security relations: A case of threatening dependency, supply guarantee, or regional energy security dynamics? Political Perspectives, 6 (1), p.27-50.

Week 9. Energy and Development

This session considers the relationship between energy and the political and economic development of states. In doing so, this session will introduce students to the concepts of ‘Dutch Disease’ and the ‘Resource Curse’, and examples of their manifestation.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What are the ‘resource curse’ and ‘Dutch disease’? In which countries can we see these phenomena?
2. What is ‘sustainable development’?
3. What is ‘state capitalism’?

Core Reading

Ahrend, R., 2006. How to sustain growth in a resource-based economy the case of Russia. OECD Working Paper № 478, p.1-28

Bremmer, I., 2009. State Capitalism Comes of Age. Foreign Affairs, May/June, p.1-10.

Further Reading

Kretzshmar et al, 2013. Russia’s resource capitalism. Energy Policy, 61, p.771-782.

Oomes, N., & Kalcheva, K., 2007. Diagnosing Dutch Disease. IMF Working Paper № 07/102.

Tompson, W., 2005. Political implications of a resource-based economy. Post-Soviet Affairs, 21 (4), p.335–359.

Week 10. Energy and the Environment

This session considers the impact of emissions reduction strategies on the use of traditional fossil fuels, the politics of international climate change action, and debates over the safety of nuclear energy and the viability of large-scale renewable energy consumption.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. Which states are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) today?
2. Which states are the strongest advocates of reducing GHG emissions?
3. Which large states are the most reluctant to take on commitments to reduce their GHG emissions and energy consumption?
4. What is the Kyoto Protocol, and how successful has it been in reducing global GHG emissions??

Core Reading

Carbon Brief, 2015. Analysis: The final Paris climate change deal. Carbon Brief, 12 December. [online] Available at: <http://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-the-final-paris-climate-deal> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

Harvey, 2015a. Paris climate change agreement: the world’s greatest diplomatic success. The Guardian, 14 December. [Online] Available at: <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/13/paris-climate-deal-cop-diplomacy-developing-united-nations> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

IEA, 2015. World Energy Outlook 2015: Special Report on Energy and Climate Change. [pdf] Paris: IEA, p.17-33. Available at: <http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/weo-2015-special-report-2015-energy-and-climate-change.html> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

Further Reading

Harvey, 2015b. Everything you need to know about the Paris climate summit and UN talks. The Guardian, 2 June. [online] Available at: <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/02/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit-and-un-talks> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

IEA, 2013. Re-drawing the energy – climate map. [pdf] Paris: IEA. Chapters 1 (p.13-33) and 3 (p.83-115).

IEA, 2016. CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion. [pdf] Paris: IEA, p.9-21. Available at: <http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/co2-emissions-from-fuel-combustion-highlights-2016.html> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

IEA, 2016. World Energy outlook (Executive Summary). [pdf] Paris: IEA. Available at: <http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/world-energy-outlook-2016---executive-summary---english-version.html> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

Special issue of the journal ‘Environmental Politics’, which focuses on the issues of energy security and climate change. Among its articles, this special issue includes:

Sharples, J.D., 2013. Russian approaches to energy security and climate change. Environmental Politics, 22 (4), p.683-700.

Week 11. Energy and the Arctic Region

This session analyses the role of the Arctic region in international energy politics, as an arena of competition and cooperation. The lecture begins by examining the geography of the Artic region, and how it is governed, before highlighting the major political issues (territorial claims and border delineation), security issues (conflict and cooperation), and environmental issues (impact of climate change and pollution). The lecture concludes by considering how these issues impact upon energy-based trends in the Arctic region.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. Who are the ‘Arctic states’, and which institutions are active in Arctic governance?
2. What are the main issues in Arctic energy politics?
3. How do the issues of energy and environmental protection interact in the Arctic?

Core Reading

Keil, K., 2013. The Arctic: A new region of conflict? The case of oil and gas. Cooperation and Conflict, 6 June, p.1-20

Further Reading

Arctic Strategy of the Russian government to 2020 and beyond. [online] Available at: <http://www.iecca.ru/en/legislation/strategies/item/99-the-development-strategy-of-the-arctic-zone-of-the-russian-federation> (English) [Accessed 12 April 2017].

Loe, J., 2011. Driving forces in Russian Arctic policy. Geopolitics in the High North Working Paper. [pdf] Available at: <http://www.geopoliticsnorth.org/images/stories/ attachments/econ_2011.pdf> [Accessed 12 April 2017].

Week 12. International Energy Politics: Current Trends and Future Challenges

This final session analyses current trends in energy production, trade, and consumption, identifying future challenges in the commercial and political spheres.

Questions to guide the reading:

1. What are the currents trends in energy production, transportation, and consumption?
2. Which countries/regions are major energy producers, and which are major energy consumers? Will this change in the future?
3. What are the main current political challenges/flashpoints in world energy?
4. What are the main future challenges in world energy? How can these challenges be overcome?

 

Student Requirements & Evaluation

The distribution of weights in the overall assessment is as follows:

Class participation 25%
Presentation 25%                                  
End of semester essay 50%                                      

The evaluation process will be handled jointly by the instructors of the course. Presentations and essays on will be graded by Dr Titov and Ms Mironova. Class participation grade will be average of grades for participation in classes by Ms. Mironova and Dr Titov. The end of semester essays will be graded by Dr Titov.

 

Reading

 

There is no specific ‘core reading’ this week. Instead, students will be either divided into pairs or asked to work individually, depending on the number of students in the class. Each student or pair will be allocated one report from those listed below (20-30 pages each). These reports reflect the views of international research institutions (the International Energy Agency and the World Energy Council); energy companies (BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Statoil); regional interests (the Energy Information Administration of the US government and the European Union); and advocates for oil (OPEC), gas (Eurogas and the International Gas Union), nuclear power (World Nuclear Association), and renewable energy (International Renewable Energy Agency).

In preparation for the seminar, each student or pair should identify two ‘key challenges’ in world energy, and prepare to explain them to the class.

BP, 2017. Energy Outlook 2017. [pdf] London: BP. Available at: http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/energy-economics/energy-outlook-2017/bp-energy-outlook-2017-global-insights.pdf (Read the chapter ‘Key Issues’, pages 45-63)

Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2014. Annual Energy Outlook 2017. [pdf] Available at: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/0383(2017).pdf (Read pages 3-30)

Eurogas, 2013. Long-term outlook for gas (to 2035). [pdf] Available at: http://www.eurogas.org/uploads/media/Eurogas_Brochure_Long-Term_Outlook_for_gas_to_2035.pdf (Read pages 3-13)

European Commission, 2016. EU Reference Scenario 2016:  Energy, transport and GHG emissions: Trends to 2050 (Main Results). [pdf] Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/20160712_Summary_Ref_scenario_MAIN_RESULTS%20%282%29-web.pdf  (Read pages 1-22)

ExxonMobil, 2017. Outlook for Energy: Highlights. [pdf] Available at: http://cdn.exxonmobil.com/~/media/global/files/outlook-for-energy/2017/2017_outlook_for_energy_highlights.pdf (See pages 1-20)

IEA, 2015. World Energy Outlook 2015: Special Report on Energy and Climate Change. [pdf] Available at: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WEO2015SpecialReportonEnergyandClimateChange.pdf (Read Chapter One: pages 17-33).

International Gas Union, 2015. Is Natural Gas Green Enough for Environmental and Energy Policies? [pdf] Available at: http://www.igu.org/sites/default/files/Is%20Natural%20Gas%20Green%20Enough%20TF3%20IGU%20Final%20May%202015.pdf (Read pages 4-19)

International Gas Union, 2015. Prospects for Natural Gas Identifying the Key Developments That Will Shape the Gas Market in 2050. [pdf] Available at: http://www.igu.org/sites/default/files/node-page-field_file/IGU%20Prospects%20for%20Natural%20Gas%20%28Strategy%20towards%202050%29.pdf (Read pages 6-29)

International Renewable Energy Agency, 2017. Rethinking Energy 2017: Accelerating the Global Energy Transformation. [pdf] Available at: http://www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publications/IRENA_REthinking_Energy_2017.pdf (Read the Executive Summary and Chapter One – pages 8-28)

OPEC, 2016. World Oil Outlook 2016. [pdf] Available at: http://www.opec.org/opec_web/static_files_project/media/downloads/publications/WOO%202016.pdf (Read the ‘Executive Summary’ – pages 6-24)

Shell, 2017. New Lens Scenarios (Mountains scenario). [pdf] Available at: http://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-future/scenarios/new-lenses-on-the-future.html (Read pages 5-12 and 13-24 and 37-41)

Shell, 2017. New Lens Scenarios (Oceans scenario). [pdf] Available at: http://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-future/scenarios/new-lenses-on-the-future.html (Read pages 5-12 and 25-36 and 37-41)

Statoil, 2016. Energy Perspectives. [pdf] Available at: https://www.statoil.com/content/dam/statoil/documents/energy-perspectives/energy-perspectives-2016.pdf (Read pages 7-30)

World Energy Council, 2016. World Energy Scenarios 2016. [pdf] Available at: http://www.worldenergy.org/publications/2016/world-energy-scenarios-2016-the-grand-transition/ (Read the Summary Report, pages 1-28)

World Nuclear Association, 2017. World Energy Needs and Nuclear Power. [online] Available at: http://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/world-energy-needs-and-nuclear-power.aspx (Read online - equal to 23 pages)

Further Reading

IEA, 2015. Medium Term Coal Market Report: Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2020. [pdf] Available at: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/medium-term-coal-market-report-2015.html

IEA, 2015. Medium Term Renewable Energy Report: Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2020. [pdf] Available at: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/medium-term-renewable-energy-market-report-2015-market-analysis-and-forecasts-to-2020.html

IEA, 2016. Global EV (Electric Vehicle) Outlook. [pdf] Available at: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/global-ev-outlook-2016.html

IEA, 2016. Medium Term Gas Market Report: Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2020. [pdf] Available at: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/medium-term-gas-market-report-2015-.html

IEA, 2016. Medium Term Oil Market Report: Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2021. [pdf] Available at: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/medium-term-oil-market-report-2016.html

Appendix – Useful Sources of Information

* These sources of information will be useful for students when they write their presentations and semester essays

International Organisations

Energy Charter – http://www.encharter.org/

Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences – http://www.eriras.ru/eng

European Energy Network – http://www.enr-network.org/

European Energy Portal – http://www.energy.eu/publications/

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – http://www.ipcc.ch/

International Association for Energy Economics – http://www.iaee.org/en/index.aspx

International Association of Oil and Gas Producers – http://www.ogp.org.uk/

International Energy Agency (IEA) – http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/

International Energy Agency ‘Energy’ journal - http://www.iea.org/ieaenergy/

International Energy Forum (IEF) – http://www.ief.org/

International Monetary Fund (IMF) – http://www.imf.org/external/

IMF Commodity Prices – http://www.imf.org/external/np/res/commod/index.aspx

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – http://unfccc.int/2860.php

US Energy Information Administration (EIA) – http://www.eia.gov/reports/

World Bank (Energy) – http://go.worldbank.org/3XNKW5XGE0

World Bank (Data) – http://data.worldbank.org/

World Energy Council – http://www.worldenergy.org/publications

General Energy Statistics

Enerdata Statistics - https://yearbook.enerdata.net/

EIA Energy Statistics - http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/

Eurasian Economic Commission Stats - http://www.eurasiancommission.org/en/act/energetikaiinfr/energ/energo_stat/Pages/default.aspx

Eurostat statistics: Energy - http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/energy/statistics-illustrated

Eurostat statistics: Environment - http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/environment/statistics-illustrated

IEA Energy Atlas – http://www.iea.org/statistics/ieaenergyatlas/

IEA Energy Balance Flows – http://www.iea.org/Sankey/

IEA Gas Trade Flows in Europe – http://www.iea.org/gtf/#

OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin - http://asb.opec.org/

Reegle Energy Statistics - http://www.reegle.info/statistics

UN Energy Statistics - http://unstats.un.org/unsd/energy/

Information on Energy Sources by Type

Oil

Fuels Europe – https://www.fuelseurope.eu/

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/21.htm

Peak Oil Barrel - http://peakoilbarrel.com/new-international-energy-statistics/

World Petroleum Council – http://www.world-petroleum.org/

Gas

Eurogas – http://www.eurogas.org/

European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) – http://www.entsog.eu/

Gas Exporting Counties Forum – http://www.gecf.org/

Gas Infrastructure Europe – http://www.gie.eu.com/

International Association for Natural Gas (CEDIGAZ) – http://www.cedigaz.org/

International Gas Union – http://www.igu.org/

International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Importers – http://www.giignl.org/

Natural Gas Australia – http://www.natural-gas.com.au/

Natural Gas Europe – http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/

Natural Gas Vehicle Association Europe – http://www.ngvaeurope.eu/

Natural Gas.org – http://www.naturalgas.org/

U.S. Natural Gas Supply Association – http://www.ngsa.org/

Coal

American Coal Council – http://www.americancoalcouncil.org/

European Association for Coal and Lignite – http://www.euracoal.org/

World Coal Association – http://www.worldcoal.org/

World Coal Magazine – http://www.worldcoal.com/

Nuclear

International Atomic Energy Agency – http://www.iaea.org/

Nuclear Energy Institute – http://www.nei.org/

OECD Nuclear Energy Agency – http://www.oecd-nea.org/

World Nuclear Association – http://world-nuclear.org/

Renewables

Alternative Energy News – http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/

European Renewable Energy Council – http://www.erec.org/

International Renewable Energy Association – http://www.irena.org/

Renewable Energy Association (UK) – http://www.r-e-a.net/

Renewable Energy World – http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/home

World Renewable Energy Congress – http://www.wrenuk.co.uk/

Bellona – http://bellona.org/

National Hydropower Association – http://www.hydro.org

International Solar Energy Society – https://www.ises.org/ises.nsf

Solar Energy International – http://www.solarenergy.org/

Solar Power International – http://www.solarpowerinternational.com/

World Wind Technology – http://www.windpower-international.com/

World Wind Energy Association – http://www.wwindea.org/home/index.php

International Energy Agency Wind – http://www.ieawind.org/

Global Wind Energy Council – http://www.gwec.net/

Biomass magazine – http://biomassmagazine.com/

International Geothermal Association – http://www.geothermal-energy.org/

Geothermal Energy Association – http://www.geo-energy.org/

Geothermal Resources Council – http://www.geothermal.org/home.html

 

Introduction to Energy Politics - Essay Questions

The following essay questions are derived from the weekly discussion questions, and are therefore relevant to the materials covered during this course. Choose one of these questions for your semester essay:

1. What was the ‘golden age of oil’ and what caused it to end?
2. What was the oil crisis of 1973, and what was the long-term legacy of this crisis?
3. How has the global energy mix changed since the 1970s? Which fuels are used more often, and why?
4. How do energy producers/exporters and energy consumers/importers differ in their views on energy security?
5. How do concerns over energy security relate to the issues of environmental protection and climate change?
6. What are the ‘resource curse’ and ‘Dutch disease’? Discuss one country in which we can see these phenomena.
7. Which states are the strongest advocates of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and why?
8. Which states are the most reluctant to take on commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, and why?
9. What is the Kyoto Protocol, and how successful has it been in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions??
10. What are the main issues in Arctic energy politics?
11. How do the issues of energy and environmental protection interact in the Arctic?
12. What are the main future challenges in world energy, and how can these challenges be overcome?

If you have any questions about your essay, please write to Dr. Maxim Titov at mtitov@eu.spb.ru.