Comparative Energy and Climate Policies Presentation – Russia, the US, and China
Hello, and welcome to today’s presentation. The presentation addresses energy characteristics of some developed and developing nations. Among others, the presentation includes a research into the energy profiles and policies of the various case countries. Besides, the presentation will highlight the role of energy in various rivalries among nations, and how this is shaping the global geopolitical space. The overall goal is to present insights of the global energy crises and dilemma.
The presentation will initially delve into the energy production and consumption profiles of Russia, China, and the US. That includes energy characteristics such as the mix of fossil fuels and clean energy sources for each country. On the other hand, consumption metrics are based on different sectors such as industrial, transportation, residential, and commercial, among others. Next, there is a presentation of the level of energy sufficiency/insufficiency of the mentioned countries. Thirdly, the presentation highlights the overall energy policies pursued by these countries in response to climate change. Finally, the role of energy on the geopolitical landscape is highlighted.
According to US EPA (2021), the US draws much of its energy from fossil fuels. The primary energy sources in the country are petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Natural gas is the main energy source in the US at 31%. It is followed by petroleum at 28%, and coal at 17%. Collectively, the two energy sources account for 77% of the entire energy consumption in the US. Other not so significant energy sources include nuclear and renewable energy. On the other hand, the industrial sector accounts for much of the country’s energy consumption at 32%. Other significant users include the transportation, residential sector, and the commercial sector in that order.
Since the adoption of the open door policy in 1978, economic growth in China has aggravated the demand for more energy. Coal remains a dominant source of power in the country, despite efforts to move into clean sources. The Chinese government also considers oil and gas to be significant oil sources, hence a pillar industry in the country. Based on these energy sources, the country is considered one of the top producers of ‘dirty’ energy globally. Just like the US, China’s industrial sector is the main consumer of energy at 66%, followed by transportation and residential sectors (Ritchie & Roser, 2020b).
Russia is net energy producer, with its consumption forming just a fraction of the country’s total energy production. The country imports so much crude oil to the global market, competing with the likes of the US and Saudi Arabia. Russia releases about 10.5 million barrels of crude oil daily, which accounts for 14% of the world’s daily oil demand. Besides, Russia is a major natural gas exporter. The country relies so much on revenues from oil and gas, which forms 45% of Russia’s budget.
China is one the most self-insufficient nation when it comes to energy. The country imports crude oil, natural gas, and coal from Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Russia is the second largest exporter of crude oil to China after Russia. China also relies heavily Russia’s natural gas and coal. On the other hand, Russia is self-sufficient in terms of oil and power generation, although it is also exports energy. China is arguably one of the largest energy insecure country (Pascual & Zambetakis, 2010).
Unlike China, the US is not highly dependent on Russian energy. Most of USA’s crude oil imports come from its neighbors, Mexico and Canada (40%). The US only imports a paltry 3% of its crude oil from Russia. On the other hand, the US’s overall energy imports from Russia stand at 8%. The US’s energy non-alignment with Russia are attributable to geopolitical rivalry between the two nations. The US cut Russian crude oil imports completely following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
The US is major polluter based on its energy sources, yet they are also victims of climate changes. Prolonged drought, forest fires, and global warming have pressured the US to act to minimize the effects climate change. Besides, as the demand for electricity grows, the country is starting to experience regular power outages. To fight climate change and shift into cleaner sources, research is underway to abandon fossil fuels and adopt cleaner energy sources. Some of the goals in this direction include increasing renewable energy usage and cutting carbon pollution .
Despite the numerous attempts by China to diversify its energy sources, it still remains highly reliant on coal. Attempts to diversify energy sources through imports from the US, Iran, Russia, among other nations are yet to bore positive results. That means that as the population keeps growing, its greenhouse emissions also keep rising. Another factor that has made it almost impossible to abandon coal based energy production is because many citizens (about 4 million) rely on coal production as a means of livelihood. Based on China’s energy profile, the global future of climate change will depend on the country’s energy policy.
Russia holds a unique position in the global climate change politics. The country is both a beneficiary and loser of climate change. Global warming helps the country by heating the extremely cold arctic region, whereas it causes forest fires in the country’s expansive forests. Nonetheless, recognizing that they are the fourth largest producers of greenhouse emissions calls for action. Russia has primarily held on to fossil fuels, but the country is adopting renewable resources in a bid to reduce greenhouse emissions (Pascual & Zambetakis, 2010).
According to Pascual (2015), energy plays a significant role on world politics on the global stage. To that end, Russia has maintained a dominant position due to her energy endowments. Russia has a strong grip on the sector that they use energy as a foreign relations tool. China is one of the countries that relies heavily on Russian oil imports, and has had to make foreign policy concessions to appease Russia. However, the US has made new allies with the Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia to fulfill its energy deficit.
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2020a). CO2 and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/russia
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2020b). Energy. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/energy/country/china
US EPA, O. (2021, March 18). Climate Change Indicators: Residential Energy Use. Www.epa.gov. https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-residential-energy-use#:~:text=As%20of%202018%2C%20about%20two
Pascual, C., & Zambetakis, E. (2010). The geopolitics of energy. Energy Security: Economics, Politics, Strategies, and Implications, 9-35
Pascual, C. (2015). The new geopolitics of energy. The Center on Global Energy Policy. Columbia University in the City of New York School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).
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Question 
Comparative Energy and Climate Policies Presentation – Russia, the US, and China
Choose any 3 actors, 2 from outside the US context only (e.g., sovereign states from the developed world or the developing world; or companies, a local government, a non-governmental organization (NGO), or an inter-governmental organization (IGO), etc.). Then, create a PowerPoint presentation (with voice-over) that is at least 10-12 slides long and makes an effective analytic case touching on the most relevant questions below for your chosen actors.
In drawing on the many course readings and the sources in the module note links to supplement your research, you are to critically evaluate these actors’ energy, rivalry or climate profiles, current policies, and likely future actions. You will do so by addressing yourself to the questions below and drawing out any comparisons/contrasts between the three actors you find compelling. As needed, you should supplement your research with searches in reputable sources for energy and climate information. Many of these sources have been revealed throughout this course, and you should use all of these and others of relevance (e.g., the International Energy Agency, Reuters, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, InsideClimateNews, etc.). The questions below are designed to get you to focus on the energy, rivalry, and climate profiles and policies of specific actors so that you gain insight into the bigger global dilemma of energy and climate. You do not have to answer all aspects of these questions in your presentation, only those that most assist you in crafting a good analysis.
• Briefly, what are the energy and climate profiles or policy positions of each of your chosen actors (e.g., how does each actor use energy, what kinds of primary energy supply does the actor use, or what are its views and policies regarding climate change?)?
• Is each actor capable of determining its own energy and climate fate independently? For example, has geopolitical rivalry or entrenched political power affected the actor’s energy use patterns and dependencies? Is it able to determine its own fate, or is it dependent on others? How has this been changing over time, and what might become of this in the future?
• Are the actors working toward a greener future or maintaining a fossil fuels approach (i.e., are they going more into new technologies (e.g., hydrofracking, or all-electric vehicles), or geographical domains (e.g., the Arctic, REE, or coal deposits, offshore Africa, etc. for fossil fuels))? In short, how is each actor affecting (or affected by) the energy-power-climate dilemma)?
• Finally, in what ways are they representative of the global energy, rivalry, and climate dilemma, and do you see them helping to solve this central dilemma of modern times?