Research
Security of energy supply and geopolitics
North-East Asia
Asia will become the largest consumer of energy in the coming decade, while the indigenous energy resources, except for coal, will be far from sufficient to satisfy demand. China has to fuel its economic growth and is looking for secure energy supplies. In this respect, China will be an important competitor for the EU. China has manifested itself so far in the Caspian Region, in negotiations over Russian supplies to China and the related infrastructural plans. These developments have unsettled the largest economy of the region, Japan. Japan has always been heavily dependent on imported energy. However, it has so far not faced a neighbouring rival for its energy supplies. At the same time, oil production in Indonesia is declining. Japan is therefore also counting on Russia for future energy supplies, in addition to supplies from the Persian Gulf. A complicating factor with respect to China is climate change. It is crucial for the success of climate change policies that China find other energy sources than the locally available coal deposits. CIEP will provide a focus on this increasingly important region. Part of the research and activities are conducted within the Energy Programme Asia, a joint research project of CIEP with the International Institute for Asian Studies.
See also the website of IIAS.