에너지 위기 시대의 에너지 안보 확립을 위한 법적 과제

Abstract

Although energy security is a crucial issue for realizing national security, whenever an energy supply & demand crisis occurs, discussions on overcoming the crisis have been fragmentary. This is not irrelevant to the understanding and approach of energy security from a traditional viewpoint as saving energy sources. The energy crisis can come again anytime due to various factors, such as the climate crisis and changes in external situations. At this point, when uncertainties surrounding energy supply & demand are increasing, energy security can no longer be established with the same approach. Therefore, an in-depth discussion is needed on the change of approach to the concept of energy security and the arrangement of the legal basis to establish energy security through this change. In general, energy security is “guaranteeing sufficient energy supply at an appropriate price,” so, availability and affordability of the energy are critical. However, since energy security is also part of the national energy policy, it should not be understood differently in its direction. Given that Korea and the rest of the world have set common policy goals in the energy sector to respond to the climate crisis and achieve carbon neutrality, it is necessary to consider 'Environmental Sustainability' in establishing energy security. Countries that are not rich in energy resources, such as Germany and Japan, are already seeking measures to establish energy security, such as stockpiling fossil fuels, diversification of supply chains, and expansion of renewable energy. In this process, it is worth noting that the relevant countries are systematically approaching the short-term and mid- to long-term perspectives in connection with their energy policies and are arranging applicable laws and regulations necessary to establish energy security. Korea's energy security- related legislation, centered on individual laws, makes it difficult to respond effectively to the uncertain energy resource market due to its disconnected approach, such that it has fundamental limitations not being able to view the overall supplementation among energy sources. In addition, the current energy security legislation is focused on the means of post-counteraction rather than prevention of energy crises. In order to solve these problems, in addition to the arrangement of individual laws, a system for overall energy-related laws and integrated legislation to establish energy resource security, and distributed energy activation legislation should be enacted simultaneously considering the expansion of renewable energy.