The chapter explores the principal dimensions of energy transformations and their repercussions for specific shifts in the economic and political realms. The research showcases the main vectors in the development of the energy sector with emphasis on contemporary metamorphoses in the context of the impact of the 2020 pandemic crisis, the 2021 energy crisis, and the continuing war in Ukraine, resulting in a redrawing of the world energy map. The author discusses explicit aspects of energy policy from the perspective of the evolutions in the last years, outlining the conceptual frame of the diversification efforts of different players in the energy chain, and their attempts to resolve energy dilemmas. Special attention is paid to the significant focus on global plans, launched with the goal of achieving “sustainable recovery,” so as to take advantage of the opportunities generated by the current crises to switch to a new energy model.
TopIntroduction
Presently, the global energy landscape is undergoing substantial shifts with regard to the recent challenges for this crucial sector, induced by various complications in its development with respect to the endogenous and exogenous dynamics. The disturbed operation of the energy industry exhibits the appearance of a unique synthesis of the composite internal defects and malformations, and the dissonant spill-over effects from the stormful external environment. Overall, the different crises and paralyses of energy markets unsettled almost all regions and countries, and disarranged their structural adjustment to the new realities. Against the backdrop of the transformations in the world energy map over the past years, it seems only natural that issues of securing supplies and minimizing political and economic risks in capturing precious commodities should come to the fore. Undoubtedly, the pertinent topic of energy security is attracting increasing attention at international level and generating new impulses for a more widespread debate, especially within the areas with higher import dependency. The pressing energy issues are now at the top of not only the European but also the global political agenda, mainly because of the imperative of taking decisive action to address the long-ignored problems.
Energy security has set, and will continue to set, a number of parameters for diverse processes across the globe, and this is precisely the reason for the orientation of the current research work towards this topic. There is not a single state or zone, which are not facing the test to adapt to the novel texture of the energy field and the measures undertaken and planned to improve their energy situation reconstruct the geopolitical and geoeconomic patterns. In the light of recent developments, the paper explores the principal dimensions of energy transformations and their repercussions for specific shifts in the economic and political realms. Especially interesting are not only the ecological but also the other motivational factors for the energy revolution, especially as the green reforms can mitigate international tensions by making several countries less reliant on unstable regions or transit choke points in energy transportation routes. The research showcases the main vectors in the development of the energy sector with emphasis on contemporary metamorphoses in the context of the impact of the 2020 pandemic, the 2021 energy crisis and the continuing war in Ukraine, resulting in a redrawing of the world energy map. The author discusses explicit aspects of energy policy from the perspective of the evolutions in the last years, outlining the conceptual frame of the diversification efforts of different players in the energy chain, and their attempts to resolve energy dilemmas. Special attention is paid to the significant focus on global plans, launched with the goal of achieving “sustainable recovery”, so as to take advantage of the opportunities generated by the current crises to switch to a new energy model. In view of these trends, the aim of the study is to discuss the main dimensions of the green energy transformations and the potential to embark on an energy transition in line with worldwide ambitions in this area.