Energy Transitions and the Future of Fossil Fuels

Current transitions in global energy markets profoundly affect a wide range of social, political and economic affairs that shape international politics and economics. Indeed, the question of an impending energy transition away from fossil fuels towards a low-carbon economy is fundamental to understanding many high-profile developments and challenges in contemporary world politics. This Section will examine issues relating to energy transitions from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives across three thematic Panels. For instance, questions of energy security are high on the agenda across the world, ranging from the issues regarding the sources of European natural gas supplies to the future of Chinese oil imports. The UN Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement renew pressures on governments, corporations and societies to actively promote a low-carbon transition. Concerns about fossil fuels becoming ‘stranded assets’ spur energy companies to adapt to an increasing uncertainty about demand for their products, and they force oil and gas producing countries in developing regions to consider the socio-economic impact of permanently lost export revenues. Taken together these interrelated issues provide a comprehensive picture of the high stakes and complex challenges involved in effecting the transition to a low-carbon economy.