Navigating the Energy Transition- Overcoming Geopolitical and Technological Challenges in the Shift from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energies

Navigating the Energy Transition- Overcoming Geopolitical and Technological Challenges in the Shift from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energies

Vaclav Smil argues that alternative technologies, like solar energy, nuclear, or wind energy, will take a long time to take over a significant portion of the global energy system (Smil, 2010). He also argues that displacing gas and coal in electrical generation will also be challenging. One significant challenge in the transition to clean energy is geopolitical. China has a monopoly on the raw materials required for the equipment required for clean energy production. These raw materials are the raw earth elements (REEs). The world’s superpowers (USA, Japan, Russia, India, EU, and China) recognize that clean energy is crucial to saving the planet from global warming. However, these countries are constantly competing for dominance in every sector (Smil, 2010). China having a monopoly on REEs means that if the world were to shift to clean energy, China would grow to be the most powerful country globally, which other superpower countries do not want.

The only way this rivalry can be overcome is by other superpowers agreeing to secede from the competition of global dominance and agreeing that China is already in control. Currently, there are no other significant sources of REEs other than China. However, the world cannot wait till other REE sources are found because global warming has already started showing its adverse effects. Additionally, I believe that with enough investment into alternative clean energy technologies, the world can displace the conventional fossil fuel complex. Another challenge toward clean energy is the costly investment required to build sufficient large-scale clean energy sources (Dominković et al., 2018). However, if countries decided not to invest in fossil fuel energy sources and focus on other alternatives, the process would be much more manageable.

Further, I also believe that replacing all gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles is a realistic alternative (Smit, 2018). There are numerous clean energy sources, including solar, wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, and geothermal. These alternatives offer diversity, which is required in different parts of the world. For example, solar energy cannot be used in the North Pole region to charge electric cars, but hydroelectric energy can.

References

Dominković, D. F., Bačeković, I., Pedersen, A. S., & Krajačić, G. (2018). The future of transportation in sustainable energy systems: Opportunities and barriers in a clean energy transition. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82, 1823-1838.

Smil, V. (2010). Energy transitions: history, requirements, prospects. ABC-CLIO.

Smit, R., Whitehead, J., & Washington, S. (2018). Where are we heading with electric vehicles?. Air Quality and Climate Change, 52(3), 18-27.

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Bearing these considerations in mind, and after reviewing this module’s readings and reflecting upon all of the modules’ reviews of how energy geopolitics plays out, evaluate the questions below using the information that best helps your evaluation.

Navigating the Energy Transition- Overcoming Geopolitical and Technological Challenges in the Shift from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energies

• In your opinion, can alternative energies and technologies such as wind, solar, and electric vehicles displace the conventional fossil fuels complex (e.g., do you agree or disagree with Vaclav Smil)? For example, what kinds of geopolitical and energy complex rivalries can you identify as attending any transition from fossilized electrical grids and oil-fueled vehicles to all-electric ones, and how might these rivalries be overcome?
• In your estimation, then, are all-electric vehicles, therefore, a realistic alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles?