Energy Security and Society

Energy security concerns must be considered not only in terms of energy availability at an affordable price, but also from a political and social sciences perspective.

Andrea Clabough explores transatlantic leadership on energy security and where cooperation may enhance the energy transition for the USA and Europe.

Europe’s approach to energy security has been historically split between the East and West. Given the rapidly evolving geopolitical energy security landscape on the continent, we argue that a comprehensive and shared approach to energy security — which incorporates hard security considerations — is needed.

The shift away from mining presents substantial livelihood security challenges for mining communities, but documented mining closures offer insights into how to ensure a successful transition. Secure community transitions require support from governments in the form of proactive planning, locally led collaborative responses and targeted investments.

Zeljko Jovanovic, Director of Open Society Foundations Roma Initiatives Office, talks with Nature Energy about Roma community energy security challenges, and where there is room for improved communication between policymakers and the scientific community on this issue.

As the deployment of variable renewable energy sources may lead to greater cross-border electricity exchange, energy scholars have generally presumed the emergence of cooperative multi-state grid communities. This Perspective uses International Relations theory to explore this assumption.

Russia has faced sanctions on its fossil energy exports since invading Ukraine, yet its nuclear industry has largely been overlooked. To explore Russia’s potential for influence through this sector, Szulecki and Overland analyse Russian nuclear power supplier Rosatom’s global project portfolio and the dependencies of countries on it.

Australia’s newly announced national Net Zero Authority offers an opportunity to constructively engage coal communities in planning for a decarbonized future. After years of toxic and dysfunctional climate politics, it is essential that the Authority engages with the complexity of coal and the communities at the heart of transition.

Despite increased attention, residential energy insecurity is a widespread and persistent problem in the USA. We commend ongoing investigations, urge scholars to continue to examine why some households disproportionately experience energy insecurity, and offer several lines of inquiry that may help reduce energy insecurity’s incidence and impact.

Concerns about energy and transport poverty are critical to the net-zero transition but are growing in the wake of recent global events. This study presents findings from focus groups with the public and expert interviews in the United Kingdom on support for different policy options to address these challenges.

Curbed natural gas supply from Russia to Europe has exacerbated an energy crisis on the continent. Here the authors employ a multiple regression model to estimate the response of small consumers, industry and power stations to this crisis.

The Russia–Ukraine war triggered an energy crisis that affected the cost of many goods and services. Guan et al. model the direct and indirect impacts of increased energy prices across expenditure groups and countries, finding temporary increases in total household energy costs of 63–113% under different scenarios.