Conflict, Crisis and the Politics of Energy (In)security
Date: Thursday, 15 September 2022
Time: 10:00am – 16:30pm
Location: King’s College London
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and resulting disruptions in global trade, have seen food and energy costs soar for millions. Despite attempts by many nations to impose sanctions on Russia, the world’s largest exporter of gas and oil, the amount of Russian oil and gas entering the EU has actually increased since the war began. Meanwhile, the latest IPCC (2022) report issued yet another stark reminder that we are far from limiting warming to 2C by 2100, the less ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement. Steep and sweeping transformations are needed as a matter of urgency, particularly in the energy sector as the largest contributor of global GHG emissions. As such, at COP26 over 40 countries pledged to accelerate the development of renewable technologies whilst ending investments in coal power. However, the outbreak of the Ukraine war has cast a haze of uncertainty over such prospects.
Thus, this workshop will feature critical interventions by experts from diverse backgrounds on what these recent developments bode for the green energy transition and goals born of the COP26 negotiations. What is the relationship between geopolitical conflict and uncertainty, and energy (in)security? Might the ensuing chaos inspire countries to reconsider their energy supplies and double down on developing more secure and socio-ecologically resilient sources? Or, will the current crisis hamper the transition to global carbon neutrality? What might energy secure futures look like? How will high energy costs impact politics within nation-states? How do we avoid replicating ‘green colonialism’, and ensure just and equitable transitions in the global race to net zero?
Workshop Schedule:
9:45am– Doors open
9:55am – 10:00am– PSA Environment Team ‘Welcome’
10:00am -11:20am– Panel 1 ‘UK Energy Policy & Politics’
11:20am -11:40am– Tea/Coffee Break
11:40am – 13:00– Panel 2 ‘Comparing Cross-National Responses to Energy Crises’
13:00 – 13:45-Lunch
13:45 – 15:15- Panel 3 ‘Building Just Energy Transitions’
15:15 – 15:35- Tea/Coffee Break
15:35 – 16:25- Keynote Session – Dr Anna Mikulska, Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and nonresident fellow in energy studies at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
16.30pm– Closing remarks
From 16:30pm – Post-workshop social at The Edgar Wallace, 40 Essex St, Temple, London WC2R 3JE
Warm regards,
Heather, Mitya and Ashley
PSA Environment Convening Team
Political Studies Association- Environmental Politics Group 
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