Concern about energy security is growing
UNECE Committee on Sustainable Energy
21-22 November 2001
Geneva, 22 November 2001
Concerns over energy availability and security of energy
supplies, which abated in the 1980s and 1990s, are once again re-emerging in
ECE countries. Anxieties were particularly acute during summer when petrol
prices soared in many member countries and electricity shortages developed in
California. The terrorist attacks of 11 September in New
York and Washington have added to these growing concerns.
The increased sense of vulnerability and insecurity is
fuelled by concerns over rising energy import dependence, the higher costs of
new incremental energy supplies, the increased dependence on OPEC and Middle
East oil, the longer supply routes, uncertainty regarding the full
implications of market liberalization, and the potential for social unrest and
ethnic strife in a number of producing and transit countries.
In addition, concerns over energy-related environmental
problems, notably climate change, and how they are eventually resolved, could
potentially affect the energy security of member countries. As well, the
security risks and dangers of terrorist attacks on energy installations, such
as nuclear power plants and oil and gas pipelines, need to be assessed and
factored into decision making.
"The renewed attention of governments to energy
security issues will invariably colour the debate and influence decisions on a
number of important and thorny energy policy issues in the ECE region"
said George Kowalski, Director of the Sustainable Energy Division. "No
doubt, it will influence discussions and decisions on the future role of coal
and nuclear power in meeting future energy needs, the subsidization of
indigenous energy production, the provision of incentives for the exploration
and development of fossil fuels, and the commercialisation of renewable energy
resources. It could also potentially delay the implementation of measures to
protect the environment and perhaps even contribute to the relaxation of
existing measures."
Delegates to the Committee on Sustainable Energy, meeting
in Geneva on 21-22 November 2001, considered the increased risks to the
security of energy supplies of member countries, and discussed potential
measures to strengthen energy security for all, in the light of emerging
market conditions and the recent attacks in New York and Washington.
Past government measures and policies to foster energy
security by championing energy conservation and efficiency, diversifying the
kinds and sources of energy available to consumers, the development of
indigenous (domestic) energy supplies, and the build up and maintenance of
strategic and commercial energy stocks, have all proven successful.
However, delegates agreed that governments cannot be
complacent about energy security. Markets are changing and so is the
political, economic and social complexion of the world.
The "winds of change" are blowing across the ECE
region, buffeting energy markets, industries and enterprises. Governments in
central and eastern Europe as well as central Asia are busy reshaping,
restructuring and, in some cases, privatising their energy industries. In
western Europe and North America, governments are aggressively opening up and
liberalizing energy markets, notably the natural gas and electricity markets.
At the same time, liberalization and globalisation are favouring the
agglomeration or concentration of capital and labour into ever larger and
larger multinational energy companies, raising concerns about excessive market
power.
As noted earlier, concerns about energy availability and
security of energy supplies are receiving increasing public and policy
attention. It would appear that the underlying long-run energy fundamentals
that prevailed in the 1970s and early 1980s, when energy supply and demand
were tightly balanced and energy markets rocked by two sharp oil price rises,
have reappeared. Needless to say, energy markets today are indeed different
from those that prevailed in the 1970s but recent energy market developments
call for the re-examination and strengthening of energy security measures.
Finally, delegates recognized that a strengthening of
international relations and economic cooperation can be helpful in improving
energy security. In a number of ECE countries, the rule of law needs to be
strengthened, commercial contracts protected and the business climate
improved. Low standards of living, inadequate economic development and social,
ethnic and political unrest in a number of sub-regions continue to trouble the
region as a whole, and undermine energy security for all. Concerns about
energy security cannot be fully separated from and resolved without addressing
these broader issues and problems that besiege the ECE region and the world.
For more information please contact:
Mr. George Kowalski
Director, Division for Sustainable Energy
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 917 2417
Telefax: +41 22 917 0038
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: http://www.unece.org
Ref: ECE/ENE/01/02