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CHAPTER 16

ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT: NAVIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL DISASTER

Overview

This chapter combines and updates some of the themes on energy and the environment from Chapters 19 and 20 in the sixth edition of the text. We hope that this chapter’s focus on the growing interconnections between energy and the environment will be intellectually stimulating for students. We stress the historical transformation that is occurring from fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) to alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric.

The first part of the chapter provides a brief overview of some key public and private actors involved in energy and environmental policies and some key concepts that scholars use to explain them. Next is a discussion of some interconnections between energy and the environment, with an emphasis on shifts in energy markets and political-economic conditions since the 1960s. From there the chapter surveys the recent history of oil and the role of OPEC in its production and pricing during the 1970s and 1980s. The Rio Earth Summit in 1992 marked a key moment when countries collectively recognized the tightening connection between fossil fuels and global environmental problems.

We next discuss some of the political and economic tensions that arose due to the ever-tightening interdependence amongst oil producing and consuming nations over the next three decades. As globalization accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s, environmental problems became even more international and interconnected, generating conflicts with development, energy, and national security goals. Mounting scientific research pointed to climate change as a scientific fact and spurred a sense of urgency to develop alternative energy sources. At the 1997 Kyoto meetings, countries agreed on the need to lower carbon emissions and created a number of market-based mechanisms to help make that possible.

However, with continued high oil prices before the financial crisis in 2007, major oil producers continued to push for increased production. Natural gas production increased dramatically along with criticism of the impact of fracking on the environment. Major debates about peak oil and climate change reflected political ideologies. The financial crisis made addressing environmental issues financially and socially more difficult, while also weakening political support for a global accord on climate change global at meetings in Copenhagen, Durban, and Doha.

By 2015, fossil fuel markets had shifted once again: the world was drowning in oil and natural gas due to increased production in Africa, Russia, and the United States, resulting in a buyer’s market. And yet, concerns about climate change continued to mount while technological advances were making renewable energy more efficient and less costly. Many experts are optimistic that green energy can meet rising demand for energy while reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

Surprisingly, in 2015 all but three countries signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, through which they agreed to voluntarily comply with emissions reduction targets. The effects of climate change were clearer than ever: major ice sheets in the Arctic, Greenland, and Antarctica were melting quickly; major droughts persisted in many places; and scientists documented record-high temperatures nearly everywhere. Many large corporations accepted this evidence and invested more in green energy. There was also strong public support for the Paris Agreement and efforts to deal with climate change.

From a global perspective today, many claim that the overall supply of energy is no longer the problem; instead, the problem is that because fossil fuels are still the dominant sources of energy, and they are severely impacting “spaceship earth.” U.S. president Trump has thrown “monkey wrench” into global environmental cooperation, adding further evidence to one of the text’s themes that the postwar era is ending. Under his leadership the United States risks perpetuating a global tragedy by pursuing energy and environmental goals that are out of sync with global political, economic, and social conditions.

Key Terms

• Paris Agreement on Climate Change

• renewable energy

• climate change

• cartel

• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• Tragedy of the Commons

• Earth Summit

• sustainable development

• UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

• Kyoto Protocol

• cap-and-trade

• peak oil

• fracking

Teaching Tips

• When introducing this chapter in class (as when introducing other chapters), outline the major problems that it addresses and the main arguments in its introduction. Mention that, like other chapters with some history in them, this one gives attention to the transformation of structures and issues. It also shows how energy and the environment impact each other.

• Mention other big environmental problems, such as melting ice, the loss of rainforests, and rising ocean levels and temperatures, and how they are connected to themes in this chapter. Use a short video from YouTube to help make these problems come to life and stimulate student interest.

• Instructors might begin a class session with a discussion of the impact President Trump is having on energy and environmental issues. Many students are upset that Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement. Ask students what they know about this issue. Have them get into groups to share their ideas and observations with each other. We encourage instructors to listen in on their discussions and perhaps pose a question or two to each group.

• Consider showing a full-length documentary film such as An Inconvenient Truth on a school night. Students who cannot make the screening can watch it on a commercial site such as Netflix or Amazon. Ask students to write down comments or questions during the film and then discuss some of them afterwards. Inform them that you will ask several multiple-choice questions about the film on an exam. The documentary could also be the basis of a “term paper” or other writing assignment.

• At the end of some class sessions, we occasionally have students draw a picture of a particular concept on one side of a page of paper. Easy examples are “renewable energy resources” and “climate change”; harder ones are “the tragedy of the commons” and “sustainable development.” Have students turn in their drawing. The instructor or a TA can pick one of the best drawings to show in class and ask the artist to discuss it. Having the class comment on the drawing can also be fun.

• What do students think the energy sector will look like 30 years from now? What will be the most popular source of energy? Which countries will benefit most from the transition to green energies?

• Break the class up into four groups. Have each group present either the economic, security, environmental or political implications of dependence on foreign oil.

• Have students form groups and have each group write a mini proposal for an environmental non-profit that has been nominated to receive a million-dollar grant. How would they spend this money? Have students present and vote on the best proposal.

• Discuss in class what students feel the developing world's responsibility should be in staving off climate change. Is it okay if some economic growth is sacrificed?

Sample Essay Questions

1. Use some of the discussion questions at the end of the chapter, especially numbers 4, 5, and 6.

2. Other possible questions might pertain to: OPEC; resource curses; shifting economic supply and demand conditions for energy; the impact of these issues on different societal groups; and how nations, the EU, or the UN handle these issues.

3. Students could also pick a single energy source such as coal or solar and focus on changes in market and political conditions surrounding its impact on the environment over time.

Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

1) OPEC is an example of a cartel. A cartel is

a) an organization like a Japanese keiretsu made up of companies.

b) an international organization made up of less developed countries (LDCs).

c) an organization of producers and states that control supply and pricing of a commodity.*

d) an organization of made up of transnational corporations (TNC)s.

2) The headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is in which city?

a) Nairobi, Kenya*

b) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

c) Las Vegas, Nevada

d) Mexico City, Mexico

3) Which of the following is an international body established in 1988 under the auspices of the UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization and made up chiefly of climate scientists from all over the world who assess the scientific, technical, and socio-economic information about climate change and its future risks?

a) FAO

b) WMO

c) IPCC*

d) COP

4) In which year did the first oil shock take place?

a) 1969

b) 1973*

c) 1978

d) 1981

5) Iraq accused this country of cheating on its OPEC production quotas and siphoning off oil from the neutral zone between it and this country, which led to the Persian Gulf War in 1990.

a) Saudi Arabia

b) Iran

c) Kuwait*

d) Qatar

6) Who said that dealing with the shortage of oil was “the moral equivalent of war”?

a) Ronald Reagan

b) Gro Brundtland

c) E.F. Schumacher

d) Jimmy Carter*

7) Which statement about the 1992 “Earth Summit” in Rio is incorrect?

a) It was nicknamed the “global earth conference.”*

b) It officially focused on “sustainable development.”

c) It produced a treaty—the UNFCCC.

d) It produced another treaty—the Convention on Biological Diversity.

8) Which of the following is not one of the “mechanisms” recommended by the Kyoto Protocol to help countries reduce their levels of greenhouse gas emissions?

a) cap-and-trade emissions trading

b) increasing the number of carbon sinks

c) encouraging developing nations to adopt market-driven trade strategies*

d) giving credits to developing countries that invest in “green” projects.

9) Between 2004 and 2007, global investments in renewable energy more than quadrupled, with solar, wind, and biofuels receiving 82 percent of this money in countries such as China, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. In which did form of energy did the United States make the preponderance of its new investments during this period?

a) wind power

b) solar power

c) biofuels

d) fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas)*

10) Which of the following statements about the Obama administration’s energy policies is not true?

a) Obama focused primarily on market-driven supply and demand conditions for an energy policy.*

b) Obama balanced support for continued fossil fuel production with promotion of renewables.

c) Obama approved more oil and gas exploration on public lands while using public investment funds to spur more renewables.

d) Obama believed that economic recovery after the financial crisis limited how aggressively renewables could be funded.

11) Which of the following is not an accurate statement about deniers of climate change?

a) Some of them question whether rising carbon levels are due to human causes and whether the rise in temperatures is a permanent long-term trend or just a normal, relatively short-term fluctuation when seen in historical perspective.

b) Some of them claim that oil and natural gas are more efficient to produce and distribute than renewable resources.*

c) Some of them allege that an international cabal of scientists has tricked the world into believing that climate change is real.

d) Some of them claim that a cabal of scientists conspires to keep critics from being published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

12) Which of the following is not one of the reasons the Trump administration gave for withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change?

a) The United States needs to act tough and “win” negotiations both at home and on the global stage.

b) India and China are unfairly taking advantage of other states because they have never been required to actually reduce the level of their carbon emissions.

c) The coal industry needs to be revived, in part to create more jobs.

d) Compliance with the Paris Agreement would hurt the United States’ effort to be the biggest oil and coal producer in the world.*

13) Which of the following statements about energy in China is incorrect?

a) China is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world.

b) Most of China’s imported oil comes from the Middle East.

c) China has been rapidly increasing the number of nuclear power plants in its country.

d) China is decreasing its reliance upon coal.*

14) Which of the following is not a feature of China and Africa’s new energy relationship?

a) China has invested billions of dollars in Africa’s energy sector since 2010.

b) Most of the new power plants that Chinese companies will have built in Africa between 2010 and 2020 will run on wind and solar energy.*

c) From 2010 to 2015, Chinese contractors built more than half of sub-Saharan Africa’s new hydroelectric power plants.

d) China is an important supplier of wind turbines and solar panels to Africa.

15) Between 2014 and 2016, which of the following countries or regions made the most new investments in clean energy?

a) Europe

b) The United States

c) China*

d) The Asia-Pacific region (excluding China)

Suggested Readings and Links

Bridge, Gavin, and Philippe Le Billon. Oil. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Polity, 2017.

Dannreuther, Roland. Energy Security. Malden, MA: Polity, 2018.

Di Muzio, Tim, and Jesse Salah Ovadia, eds. Energy, Capitalism and World Order: Toward a New Agenda in International Political Economy. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

Ervine, Kate. Carbon. Malden, MA: Polity, 2018.

Henry, Claude, and Laurence Tubiana. Earth at Risk: Natural Capital and the Quest for Sustainability. New York: Columbia University Press, 2018.

International Energy Agency. .

Lind, Jennifer, and Daryl G. Press. “Markets or Mercantilism? How China Secures Its Energy Supplies.” International Security 42:4 (Spring 2018): 170-204.

O’Sullivan, Meghan. Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017.

Romm, Joseph. Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

United Nations Environment Programme. .

Worldwatch Institute. .

Audiovisual Resources

There are many documentaries and videos on energy and the environment. The site UPROXX describes and shows trailers for what it claims are seven of the best environmental films, including Chasing Ice, The Island President, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (at ). YouTube has a list of “20 Top Documentaries for Environmental Awareness” at .

The Island President. John Shenk, dir. AfterImage Public Media, 2011. Follows the efforts by Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives, to bring global attention to the issue of climate change.

Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World. Declan Healy, dir. Narrated by Iain Stewart. BBC, 2015. Three episodes. “Travelling to many oil and gas producing territories around the world, Planet Oil traces how humans have developed fuels and how geology, technology, politics and commercial pressures have affected and driven the world’s insatiable consumption” (Film Media Group website).

The Prize: An Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power. An 8-part series on the history of the oil industry that originally aired on television in 1992. Based on the book of the same name by Daniel Yergin.

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