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2. Energy Futures: Oil And The Oil Industry
- Author:
- Richard A. Sears
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Abundant affordable energy has built the world in which we live today. Machines and the chemical energy that drives them have made it possible for a small percentage of the population to produce enough food for many of us to be scientists, engineers, artists, and authors. We are only able to pursue our diverse interests because available energy multiplies human effort many times over. With all the good that has come with access to energy resources extracted from the Earth, there is also an environmental price, which impacts our land, water, and air. My intent here is not to debate the merits of our current energy system; it is the reality in which we exist. Humans and human society have become dependent on energy in so many ways that we cannot simply undo what we have and flip overnight to alternatives that we believe preserve the benefits without the costs. The scale of our global energy use is enormous, and the infrastructure we have built to deliver that energy and convert it to useful work has been developed over more than a century. It will realistically take several decades for energy alternatives to grow to replace the major sources of primary energy that we utilize today; similarly, it will take many decades to rebuild our energy infrastructure to efficiently utilize new sources of primary energy.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Environment, Oil, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, and Fossil Fuels
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3. World Oil Security On A Precipice
- Author:
- Charles F. Doran
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- By attacking a major Saudi oil facility at Abqaiq on 13 September 2019, Iran established a new norm regarding oil security. Now, no oil field, pipeline, refinery, supertanker, or port facility is free from internecine warfare between oil-producing (OPEC) governments. Ironically, in attempting to defend a country from supply interruption, the United States risks worsening the magnitude and scope of that supply interruption rather than preventing its occurrence. In the era of highly accurate drones and missiles, the old oil field motto “all oil comes from a single barrel” has taken on a newly negative connotation. World oil stability rests on a precipice. Both exporters and importers suffer from supply interruption, although perhaps not equally, universally, or simultaneously. Supply interruption may benefit those who have oil to sell through resultant oil price increases if their own exports have not been interrupted. The same cannot be said for buyers who, unless they are energy speculators on the futures market, ardently want to prevent supply interruption and the virtually certain subsequent (though sometimes not lasting) increase in price.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Environment, International Political Economy, Oil, OPEC, and Pipeline
- Political Geography:
- Saudi Arabia and Global Focus
4. Financial Innovation For Energy Innovation
- Author:
- Ashby Monk and Soh Young In
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- The move toward a global energy transition is underpinned by the collective need to limit the most severe impacts of climate change as well as to foster more sustainable economic growth. Floating photovoltaic power stations on Chinese lakes, integrated carbon capture technology on large-scale power plants in Canada, and decentralized urban wind turbines on Singaporean rooftops are just a few examples of how radical innovations in clean energy technology are fueling the global energy transition.1 Bringing cutting-edge technology from the lab to the global energy market requires a supportive ecosystem. Innovation must be matched by market readiness to adopt disruptive technologies, local capacities to scale up new energy projects, energy policies with climate objectives, technological development, and sufficient and “aligned” investment capital.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, Finance, Innovation, and Renewable Energy
- Political Geography:
- China, Canada, and Global Focus
5. In The Era Of U.S. Energy Abundance: The Role Of The Caspian Region In U.S. Policy
- Author:
- Brenda Shaffer
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- For most of the last fifty years, international energy policy has been a major focus of U.S. foreign and national security policy. Washington has viewed ensuring the energy security of its allies—especially in Europe, Japan, and South Korea—as part of its own national security. In this approach to energy policy, the United States was unique and contrasted with most Western countries, which generally treated energy policy as part of their economic and/or environmental policies. Washington has engaged in international energy policy on the highest executive levels in the White House and established influential units within cabinet departments and agencies to promote international energy policies and to integrate them with U.S. national security and foreign policies. Within the Department of State, successive special ambassadors were appointed to promote various international and regional energy policies and, in 2011, a full Bureau of Energy Resources was established.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Energy Policy, Environment, Oil, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- United States, Caspian Sea, and Global Focus