EQ2 6.4

Question 1

What is energy security?

Answer 1

The uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price

Question 2

What is a country’s energy mix?

Answer 2

The proportion of each type of primary energy resource it uses each year

Question 3

What is a measure of energy security?

Answer 3

International Energy Security Risk Index

Question 4

How does energy mix transition with development?

Answer 4

Pre-industrial: Biomass, waste (wood, dung) - substinence lifestyle

Industrialisation: ↑use of fossil fuels for power stations + oil for transport - mainly domestic sources of energy

Post-industrial: Nuclear + renewables (limited by cost), sophisticated technology, clean energy sources, global environment targets

Question 5

What does a country need to be energy secure?

REGRETS

Answer 5

• Resources
• Economic structure
• Government goals
• Research + development
• Elections
• Trade
• Story (narrative)

Question 6

Ukraine’s energy security/resource availability?

Answer 6

• Ukraine has the worst score of any European country on the International Energy Security Risk Index
• But has the world’s 7th largest coal reserves

Question 7

Why is Ukraine energy insecure?

Answer 7

• Lack of investment into energy infrastructure = inefficient + low quality for market
• Heavy reliance on imported oil from Russia - geopolitical tensions
• Nuclear power raises concerns among public due to Chernobyl accident

Question 8

REGRETs of Mozambique?

Answer 8

• Resources: World’s 4th largest gas reserve found ($350bn potential energy sources) - BUT only 3.8bcm exploited so far
• Economic development: 7% ↑ in GDP, young educated population - BUT 55% pop. below poverty line due to 17yr civil war
• Government goals: young people feel gov isnt doing enough to protect environment - land being sold to US companies = 11 communities having to relocate
• R+D: Potentially $10bn investment over 3 years from Portugal, Japan, India, UAE, Brazil
• Story (Public perception): High public concern about gov exploitation of resources - could be increasing risk of riots due to poor mining working conditions, land grab and forced relocations

Question 9

Economic problems with exploiting resources?

Answer 9

• Dutch disease - primary product/commodity dependency
• Volatile prices, instable incomes, poor terms of trade

Question 10

How much does the UN predict global population will be by 2050?

Answer 10

10 billion = growing middle classes = ↑ consumption and demand for energy

Question 11

What are TNCs role in the energy market?

Answer 11

They are involved in exploring, extracting, transporting, refining and producing petrochemicals

Question 12

What is OPEC’s role in the energy market?

Answer 12

12 member countries and between them own 2/3 world’s oil reserves

Control amount of oil and gas entering the global market + prices

Have been accused of holding back production to ↓ supply to raise prices

Question 13

What are energy companies’ role in the energy market?

Answer 13

Convert primary energy into electricity and distribute it
Considerable influence over consumer prices

Question 14

What are consumers’ roles in the energy market?

Answer 14

Control demand = control price
Mainly transport, industry and domestic users

Largely passive players in the market

Question 15

What are governments’ roles in the energy market?

Answer 15

Guardians of national energy security + can influence the sourcing of energy