World Energy Crisis – Geography – UGC NET – Notes

Introduction

• The energy crisis refers to a situation where the global demand for energy surpasses its supply, creating instability in economic activities, geopolitical relations, and environmental management.
• The energy crisis is the concern that the world’s demands on the limited natural resources that are used to power industrial society are diminishing as the demand rises. These natural resources are in limited supply. While they do occur naturally, it can take hundreds of thousands of years to replenish the stores.

Causes of the Energy Crisis

The energy crisis is a multifaceted problem stemming from a combination of natural, economic, political, and technological factors:

• Depletion of Fossil Fuels: The world’s heavy reliance on finite fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) is a primary long-term cause. These resources are depleting faster than new reserves are discovered or replenished, leading to concerns about “peak oil” and diminishing returns from extraction.
• Increasing Global Demand:
  • Population Growth: A continuously growing global population naturally leads to higher overall energy consumption.
  • Industrialization and Urbanization: Rapid industrial development and urbanization, particularly in emerging economies (e.g., China, India), drive a massive increase in energy demand for manufacturing, infrastructure, and urban services.
  • Rising Living Standards: Improved living standards globally translate to increased per capita energy consumption for transportation, heating, cooling, and electronic devices.
• Geopolitical Factors and Supply Disruptions:
  • Political Instability: Many major fossil fuel reserves are concentrated in politically volatile regions (e.g., the Middle East, parts of Africa, Eastern Europe). Conflicts, civil unrest, and regime changes in these areas can disrupt production and supply routes.
  • Trade Embargoes and Sanctions: Political decisions like embargoes (e.g., the 1973 oil crisis) or sanctions (e.g., against Russia) can restrict energy supply to specific markets, causing price spikes and shortages.
  • Choke Points: Strategic maritime passages (e.g., Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal) through which a significant portion of global energy supplies pass are vulnerable to disruption, posing risks to energy security.
• Underinvestment in Energy Infrastructure: Insufficient investment in exploration, extraction, refining, transmission, and distribution infrastructure can create bottlenecks and limit the efficient flow of energy from source to consumer. This includes outdated power plants and transmission systems.
• Natural Disasters and Climate Change Impacts: Extreme weather events (hurricanes, floods, droughts) can damage energy infrastructure, leading to power outages and supply disruptions. Climate change also affects hydroelectric power generation due to altered rainfall patterns.
• Technological Limitations and Slow Transition: The slow pace of developing and deploying advanced renewable energy technologies, coupled with challenges in energy storage and grid integration, means that the world remains heavily dependent on conventional sources.
• Energy Policies and Regulations: Inconsistent government policies, high energy subsidies (which disincentivize conservation), lack of long-term energy planning, and regulatory hurdles can exacerbate energy imbalances.
• Energy crisis can be brought by many factors: organized labour strikes, embargoes by governments, over-consumption, aging infrastructure, and bottlenecks at production centers and port facilities.
• Pipeline failures and other accidents may cause minor interruptions to energy supplies. A crisis could possibly emerge after infrastructure damage from severe weather.
• Attacks by terrorists on important infrastructure are a possible problem for energy consumers: a successful strike on a West Asian facility could potentially cause global shortages. Political events-change of governments due to regime change, monarchy collapse, military occupation or a coup-may disrupt oil and gas production and create shortages.
• The world over the economy has come to be heavily dependent on oil consumption. Even a slight change in prices, or temporary stoppage of production or supply of oil, can cause major upheavals in the economy.

Historical Examples and Regional cases of Energy Crisis

• In October 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised the prices of oil from $ 1.5 per barrel to $7 per barrel. The reasons given were that oil prices were not in tune with the increase in prices of other commodities and that the countries wanted to make maximum profits while the limited reserves lasted. In 1979, the Iranian revolution caused a disruption in oil supplies.
• The price in dollars per barrel shot up to 24 in 1979, 34 in 1981 before stabilizing at around 20. Because of the hike, economies were hit worldwide. The worst sufferers were the developing countries that did not have ensuing foreign exchange reserves to pay for oil imports. In the ensuing economic crisis, there were demands for higher wages, and the cost of living went up.
• Once again in 1990, there was a price hike in oil as well as difficulty in meeting demand because of the Gulf war.
• The 1973 and 1979 crises forced the world community to improve oil-using technology, develop alternative sources and develop indigenous potential (as in India). Vigorous efforts were made worldwide to improve the internal combustion engine for better efficiency and mileage.
• Since 2003, the price of oil has gone up because of the continued global increase in demand coupled with stagnation in production.
• In 2008, the Central Asia energy crisis was caused by abnormally cold temperatures and low water levels in an area dependent on hydroelectric power. Despite having significant hydrocarbon reserves, in February 2008, the President of Pakistan announced plans to tackle energy shortages that were reaching the crisis stage. At the same the South in South Africa. The South African crisis, which may last to 2012, led to a large price rise for platinum in February 2008 and reduced gold production.
• China experienced severe energy shortages towards the end of 2005 and again in early 2008. During the latter crisis, it suffered severe damage to power networks along with diesel and coal shortages.
• It has been predicted in the coming years after 2009 the United Kingdom will suffer an energy crisis due to its commitments to reduce coal-fired power stations, its politicians’ unwillingness to set up new nuclear power stations to replace those that will be decommissioned in a few years (even though they will not be running in time to stop a full-blown crisis) and unreliable sources and sources that are running out of oil and gas.