Goldthau & Youngs: The EU Energy Crisis and a New Geopolitics of Climate Transition

Flashcards covering the key conceptual shifts, policy responses, and geopolitical impacts of the 2022 European energy crisis and climate transition.

Securitization of the green transition

A conceptual shift in 2022 where energy transition was elevated to a hard security issue, with renewables framed as "freedom energy" to end dependency on foreign suppliers.

Renewables extractivism

A realpolitik approach where the EU focuses on extracting renewable energy and critical minerals from third countries primarily to solve its own energy squeeze and transition targets.

TTF

The European benchmark for liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, which reached an all-time high of $319.98\,EUR/MWh$ in August 2022.

REPowerEU

A comprehensive policy package presented in May 2022 aimed at phasing out Russian fossil fuels well before 2030 and raising renewable energy targets to $42.5\%$ by 2030.

Merit order principle

The mechanism where the marginal fuel (gas) sets the price for the European power market, causing electricity prices to soar alongside gas prices.

Green Deal Industrial Plan

An EU initiative designed to support clean tech production and industrial transformation through loosened state aid and the Net Zero Industry Act.

EU Energy Platform

A common purchasing vehicle created to help drive down the price of imported gas through collective buying, scheduled to start operation in 2023.

H2MED

A planned pipeline project between Barcelona and Marseilles intended to transport hydrogen from North Africa to European markets.

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

An EU policy targeting the carbon footprint of imports that reached a provisional agreement between the European Parliament and the Council at the end of 2022.

Critical Materials Act

New legislation aimed at securing better access to minerals such as those from Kazakhstan and Namibia that are essential for the energy transition.

Loss and damage fund

A climate compensation fund for developing countries that European nations finally backed at the COP27 summit in Egypt in November 2022.

Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP)

Funding initiatives aimed at supporting energy transitions in countries like Indonesia, India, Senegal, and Vietnam; the EU's $1$-billion-euro contribution to Indonesia was its largest climate-funding initiative ever.

Market correction mechanism

The official term used by the Council of the European Union for the cap placed on the price of gas imports to protect the economy against excessively high prices.

Strategic Compass

A 2022 EU document that, along with the Climate Defence Roadmap, promises to make Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions more climate-sensitive.