THE CHANGING INTERNATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR COOPERATION IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

摘要

The current global energy system is not sustainable. Addressing this problem will be a source of change in the larger international political system and will reflect larger changes in that system. The world is witnessing a major transformation in the nature of the relationship between producers and consumers of energy. The old system, which existed from about 1980 until 2003, was characterized by relatively cheap energy, energy consumption largely concentrated in the West, producers with excess capacity, little awareness of the consequences for the environment of burning fossil fuels, and a general lack of interest in promoting causes such as energy efficiency and alternative sources of energy to replace the traditional reliance on coal, oil, and natural gas.