Society 365 / 2014

DIPLOMATIE
ENERGIE
The Importance
of Energy
Energy diplomacy is a necessary
component of national
security. It is a duty of every
country to try to ensure for
its citizens that access to
energy is secure, reliable,
affordable and sustainable. If a country
is overly dependent on another for its energy,
then it can have influence on its political
and economic independence and it
can make the country vulnerable.
A definition of energy diplomacy could
be stated as the use of foreign policy to
secure access to energy supplies abroad
and to promote cooperation in the energy
sector. It is very often a combination of
strategic government goals and corporate
business interests.
Energy Diplomacy has emerged as a
powerful concept in public discourse. Energy
resources have been either the cause
of or a proxy for foreign policy or even
military actions. There is a strong link between
energy and diplomacy.
There is a strong link between energy and
diplomacy. The so called energy diplomacy
accounts for the fact that dependency of
a country on foreign energy supplies can
have serious effects.
Text: Dr. Ranko Vujacic
•
Demography factor and energy
Today 1.3 billion people on the earth
have no access to electricity – it is one out
of every five persons. More than twice that
number – some 2.8 billion people worldwide
rely on wood, charcoal, crop waste
or other solid fuels to cook their food and
heat their homes. These figures should
make us think about the future energy
requirements of our planet.
An initiative launched by the UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon in 2011 called
“Sustainable Energy for All” sets itself the
following three objectives to be achieved
by 2030: universal access to sustainable
energy; doubling the increase of energy
efficiency; and, doubling the share of re-
62 | SOCIET 1_2014