The Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition

The world is currently undergoing an historic energy transition, driven by increasingly stringent decarbonisation policies and rapid advances in low-carbon technologies. The large-scale shift to low-carbon energy is disrupting the global energy system, impacting whole economies, and changing the political dynamics within and between countries.

This open access book, written by leading energy scholars, examines the economic and geopolitical implications of the global energy transition, from both regional and thematic perspectives. The first part of the book addresses the geopolitical implications in the world’s main energy-producing and energy-consuming regions, while the second presents in-depth case studies on selected issues, ranging from the geopolitics of renewable energy, to the mineral foundations of the global energy transformation, to governance issues in connection with the changing global energy order. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers in energy, climate change and international relations, as well as to professionals working in the energy industry.

Manfred Hafner is an Adjunct Professor of International Energy Economics and Geopolitics at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS Europe), Bologna BO, Italy, and at the SciencesPo Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), France. He is also the Coordinator of the Future Energy Programme of the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Milan, Italy. In the course of his 30-year career, he has extensively consulted for governments, international organizations and the energy industry all over the world.

Simone Tagliapietra is an Adjunct Professor of Global Energy Fundamentals at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS Europe), Bologna BO, Italy. He also is a Senior Researcher at the Future Energy Programme of the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Milan, Italy, and a Research Fellow at Bruegel, the European economic think-tank. He has published extensively on the international energy market and policy issues.