The economic war that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought to the fore the dependence of Western democracies on the planet’s abundant natural resources in countries with authoritarian regimes. It is no coincidence that most countries with large oil and gas reserves have authoritarian regimes as governments: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela. Any natural resource that is both valuable and concentrated in specific countries that can be controlled by a central government, then this situation is the ideal basis for the rise to power of authoritarianism.
Capitalism through industrial production has reduced the political importance of controlling natural resources as technology and transportation have provided many alternatives and created valuable products from cheap raw materials.
A timeless historical exception to this day, it remains the good of energy. Until this situation changes, Western democracies will be in danger of geopolitical blackmail, and not just from Russia. 40 states did not support the condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the UN and they are the ones who have more than half the population of the world and support these authoritarian regimes.
Decentralized energy production is the only way, in the long run, to get out of this bad blackmail situation in the Western democracies and to protect the environment and democracy. Mainly or exclusively from renewable energy sources (RES) in combination with more energy savings. The technology is there, the factories for the production of the equipment are easy to set up and the cost per kilowatt hour is now low. The obstacles are institutional and political.
1. An institutional barrier is the central planning of electricity transmission and distribution networks, which makes it difficult for self-generation and on-site consumption in buildings or small communities.
2. The very slow process of location and licensing for some RES installations, such as offshore wind turbines.
3. A political obstacle is the established interests – business and trade union – in the older forms of production. It is also the reaction of local communities to any new facility that changes the landscape even slightly, such as wind turbines on islands, at sea or in tourist areas.
4. Another problem is that energy storage – a necessary complement to RES – is currently dependent on rare minerals, mainly nickel, which creates new geopolitical risks. But this will be overcome in a few years with innovations already being developed if there is the right and appropriate funding.
The new geopolitical threat, as it emerged in the war between Ukraine and Russia, is an opportunity to create a political front within any democracy in favor of a rapid transition to RES.
