The new map: energy, climate and the clash of nations
Rasmus Abildgaard Kristensen
Abstract
Control over and access to energy resources and markets are important attributes of state power and have been the cause of multiple conflicts over the last hundred years. Historically, shifts in energy supply and demand are often linked to parallel changes in geopolitics. Daniel Yergin's book, The new map: energy, climate and the clash of nations, is about the new geopolitical map that is being shaped by changes in the global energy landscape, including the shale revolution in oil and gas and the rise of renewables and climate politics. Yergin, who is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of several books on energy politics, seeks to illuminate these issues of geopolitics and energy through a series of ‘new maps’. In ‘America's new map’, Yergin describes how the US geopolitical position in the world has changed, as the country has come close to energy self-sufficiency due to the shale revolution. The US is already a net exporter of gas and is set to become a net exporter of oil within a few years. Increased energy security also means greater flexibility in foreign policy and less need for American interventions abroad. ‘Russia's map’ is about Putin's energy diplomacy and the political leverage which may accompany increased exports of Russian natural gas to Europe, as well as the country's pivot to the east and its strategic alignment with China, where oil and gas exports also play an important role. ‘China's map’ is about the country's economic rise and its pursuit of energy security. Yergin argues, for example, that the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ is essentially a Chinese attempt to secure energy supplies from new trading partners in central Asia, Africa and Latin America. Looking at the ‘maps of the Middle East’, Yergin convincingly demonstrates how America's engagement in the region is changing because of improved energy security at home. At the same time, the region's traditional oil and gas exporters, including Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, are grappling not only with increased competition from new producers, but also with the challenge of diversifying their economies in preparation for a future decline in oil demand. The book's most interesting chapters are ‘Roadmap’ and ‘Climate map’, which discuss the geopolitical implications of a future electrification of transport as well as the rise of renewables caused by climate politics.