How Energy Security Is Defining the 21st Century

Key Takeaways

• Energy security is vital for countries to provide their populations with reliable and affordable energy and achieve economic growth.
• War, terrorism, cyber-attacks, natural disasters, supply chains, and politics can all affect energy security.
• Renewable energy offers a chance to reset the energy imbalances caused by over-reliance on fossil fuels, which are in the hands of a few countries.

The modern world relies on energy to function. Yet dependence on anything creates potential weakness, and energy is no different.

That’s why energy security is a real and prominent player in modern global stability. Add in climate change and the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and it’s easy to see why governments are beginning to take energy security ever more seriously.

War, weather, government policies, and climate change all put a nation’s energy security at risk. Here’s what you need to know.

How Is Energy Security Defined?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines energy security as “the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price.” Indeed, the IEA was created to “ensure secure and affordable energy supplies.”

Energy security also means a country or state having access to sufficient energy to meet its power demands. Its energy system must be secure against short-term supply disruptions and cyber-attacks and be able to meet its long-term energy market’s demands.

Not only that, but the country must have a power system and infrastructure to distribute the energy to industry, homes, military institutions, and more. Countries are open to invasion if they lack the energy to power their military.

What Are the 4 As of Energy Security?

The four As of energy security are:

• Availability: Ensuring sufficient amounts of energy supplies are available.
• Accessibility: Providing all citizens with access to energy via robust infrastructure. Accessibility also includes access to energy at affordable prices.
• Affordability: People must access energy at sufficiently low prices to prevent fuel poverty.
• Acceptability: Minimizing energy’s negative impacts, like greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, pollution, and environmental damage.

Energy Security vs. Energy Independence

Energy independence occurs when a nation has enough energy resources to meet its energy demands. In contrast, energy security relates to having reliable and affordable energy within a country, regardless of where the energy was sourced. Having both enhances a country’s national security and economic growth.

The United States is an excellent example of energy security and energy independence. There is enough energy within the U.S. borders to achieve energy independence, and it has a certain level of energy security.

According to the   (WEC), Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are the top three energy-secure nations. That’s thanks to their energy security, sustainability, and policymakers’ effective energy transition to renewable energy sources. America ranked 15th in the WEC list, perhaps partly because in 2020, one in seven Americans were living in energy poverty.

Furthermore, the United States doesn’t have energy independence despite its fossil fuels and abundant clean energy sources. Why? Because the country imports and exports energy: oil, natural gas, and even wood pellets are traded to stimulate domestic economic growth. Its energy is secure, but the country is not yet energy independent because it is at the mercy of global energy prices.

What Are the Three Pillars of Energy Security?

Energy security is one of the three pillars to which modern energy policy aspires.  are energy security, energy efficiency, and sustainability. These pillars will guide energy policy decisions as the world transitions to net-zero emissions by 2050 through renewable energy sources.

What Are the Main Threats to Energy Security?

The energy sector is at the mercy of many threats to its role as an energy security provider, affecting people’s day-to-day lives and overall national security.

Modern energy policy requires governments to keep their territories and people safe from natural and human disasters, ranging from terrorism to war, famine, and environmental disasters—all of these spill over into energy policy and energy security.

The main threats to energy security include:

• Policymakers disrupting increasingly interconnected energy supply chains.
• War and other geopolitical decisions like changing trade deal rules.
• Climate change-induced energy issues. For example, the Chinese city of Sichuan lost 80% of its hydropower capabilities during a drought.
• Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and the deadly Texas winter storm of 2021, can disrupt supply chains and damage power grids.
• Cyber security, with cyber attacks increasing on energy infrastructure, such as hackers paralyzing oil supplies in the Colonial Pipeline in 2021.

What Are Examples of Energy Security Threats?

We’re living through an energy security threat right now. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to countries in Europe and worldwide banning Russian oil and natural gas imports. Russia retaliated by turning off the enormous Nord Stream natural gas supply pipeline to Germany. Soaring fossil fuel prices led to record-breaking gasoline prices and people’s domestic energy bills doubling.

Of course, the Ukraine war and its impact on energy security are not new phenomena. There have been many energy crises throughout the years.

In 1973, the Arab-Israeli War forced President Nixon to develop Project Independence. Washington, D.C., wanted complete energy autonomy by 1980, a target missed. In 1990, oil prices spiked globally after U.S. troops landed in Iraq to start the Persian Gulf Iraq War.

Energy security threats do not always create lose-lose scenarios. America capitalized on natural gas shortages by boosting liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to the European Union to become the world’s largest exporter of LNG.

In the Face of Threats, How Can Energy Security Be Achieved?

There are several levers policymakers can pull to improve their nation’s energy security. The principal ways to assure energy security are:

• A clean energy transition from finite fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
• Increased electrification.
• Diversification of electricity generating sources, including more clean energy technologies.
• Improving energy efficiency across all sectors, from buildings to vehicles to gadgets.
• Boosting energy storage capacity to capture excess renewable energy.
• Modernizing the power grid and energy infrastructure and ensuring its safety from cyber attacks.
• Promoting local electricity generation to increase the electrical grid’s robustness.

What Role Do Fossil Fuels Play in Global Energy Security?

While clean energy technologies may be the future of energy security, fossil fuels are the current energy security guardians. More than 84% of our global energy comes from fossil fuels.

Oil deposits, natural gas supplies, and coal reserves drive the modern world. Without them, global trade, central heating, and an at-whim electricity supply would not exist. This is why owning fossil fuels is vital to energy security.

We’ve seen how the Ukraine war completely changed the energy market and global energy security. How will other countries sitting atop colossal fossil fuel reserves make their mark in the future? These are energy security questions nations ponder.

Venezuela has the most oil reserves, Russia owns almost a quarter of global natural gas reserves, and the U.S. has the most proven coal reserves. Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq have vast oil wealth. Some 22% of the world’s undiscovered fossil fuels are in the Arctic.

Governments without sufficient energy resources face the dilemma of how to deal securely with regimes that own fossil fuel reserves. Those with fossil fuels grapple with how to use this natural resource without damaging the planet through climate change.

And so, down the line, sustainable energy may be all-powerful. China has spent a decade as the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy producer. Other countries are movers: by the end of 2030, the U.K. may be importing up to 8% of its electricity via an undersea cable powered by Moroccan solar farms.

Energy security will come down to who owns which pieces of the energy pie and who has invested in enough slices of renewables once the fossil fuels run out.

How Are Efforts to Transition to Renewables Impacting Global Energy Security?

Around 80% of countries worldwide must import energy to meet their needs. That means they do not have complete energy security.

Yet many of these countries are in areas rich in potential renewable energy resources, like solar, wind, or hydropower. Investment in renewables could bring energy security to countries that previously relied on fossil-fuel exporting countries.

The clean energy transition would create employment, diversify energy supplies, and reduce pollution. Fewer emissions would help in the battle against climate change, improve the environment, and prevent countries from being at the mercy of fossil-fuel-rich nations.

What Are the Vulnerabilities and Risks Associated With the Current Energy Infrastructure?

Current energy infrastructure is susceptible to many risks, making energy security vulnerable.

Supply chain risk management, as well as emergency response planning, is vital in case fossil fuel imports dry up. Energy infrastructure, from electrical substations to pylons, must also be physically secure. The power grid could be damaged during storms, which are becoming stronger due to climate change, or via cyber attacks by other states.

Cyber security is also of utmost importance as more energy systems move to use AI and smart technology. Cyber attacks can incapacitate electronic payment systems, and hackers can control power plants and even switch off pipelines. Countries and businesses must have secure emergency response planning to deal with these scenarios.

How Are Technological Advancements Contributing to Energy Security?

Technological advancements make power grids both more and less secure simultaneously. Reliance on smart technology and internet-based systems increases the chances of cyber attacks and outages if the Wi-Fi connections fail.

However, technology can also detect attacks much more quickly. Real-time data identifies potential outages, balances the grid’s supply and demands, and identifies more efficient use of energy resources, from appliances to power plants.

The Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Energy (IoE) will speed up the detection process. IoE covers the interconnectivity of all energy-related items via big data sent across the internet. Appliances, infrastructure, and energy usage can all be monitored and automated to make the energy grid more efficient.

For example, idle electric vehicles could feed electricity from their charged batteries into a power grid when demand soars. This diversification of electricity sources brings energy security thanks to smart technology permitting it.

Indeed, in 2021, the current U.S. government passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, promising $27 billion to modernize the nation’s power grid and bring energy security through clean energy.

Energy Security and Climate Change Go Hand-In-Hand

Energy security—providing affordable and reliable energy to an area—is a luxury most nations don’t have because of dependence on fossil fuels other countries hold. A few oil, natural gas, and coal-rich states have made a lot of money during the last century’s energy boom thanks to their fossil fuel resources.

Energy demand is expected to increase as the world’s population grows. However, the clean energy transition offers many countries a chance to harness the power of renewable energy sources and boost their energy security.

Global politics and the fossil fuel industries may try to resist clean energy growth for as long as possible. But renewable and clean energy, which offers less pollution and greater energy security, is a tempting carrot that many energy-insecure countries may find impossible to ignore. That in itself will bring changes to the global energy security map.

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