International Energy Cooperation Research Articles

International Legal Approach to Understanding Energy Diplomacy

INTRODUCTION. The relevance of the research topic is determined, firstly, by the increasing importance of energy diplomacy for solving modern problems arising in the field of international energy cooperation, and secondly, by the significance of studying the problems of energy diplomacy from the point of view of the science of international law. Despite the fact that energy diplomacy is being formed and realizing its potential in the international legal environment, it is not given adequate attention to its role in the legal literature, including in scientific works on international law, which, in turn, looks like a gap in international legal science. The purpose of the work is to substantiate the international legal concept of energy diplomacy, to identify its connection with the classical model of diplomacy and at the same time specific, to objectively identify the main directions of the relationship between energy diplomacy and international law.MATERIALS AND METHODS. When writing the work, scientific works related to the topic, international treaties and documents of international law, acts of national legislation of states are analyzed. General scientific and special methods of cognition, including comparative legal and formal legal, were used as a research method.RESEARCH RESULTS. Energy diplomacy is derived from the “classical” model of diplomacy. There are various interpretations of diplomacy, focusing on its various aspects and manifestations. The article substantiates the understanding of diplomacy as a means of implementing the state’s foreign policy through the activities of special entities (bodies of foreign relations) using non-military techniques and methods in accordance with international law. The evolution of diplomacy and the emergence of its new forms are traced, their specificity and international legal component are noted. Taking into account the specifics of energy, international energy cooperation, their legal support based on the potential of international and national law, the independent nature of energy diplomacy, its increasing role in modern conditions is substantiated. The specific features of energy diplomacy are identified and its concept is proposed, taking into account the international legal component. In modern conditions, full-fledged regulatory and institutional legal foundations of the EU’s foreign energy policy and energy diplomacy have not developed. It is noted that the legitimacy of unilateral restrictive measures applied in energy diplomacy by a number of states is indisputable from the point of view of international law. The main directions of the relationship between energy diplomacy and international law are outlined in detail, options for legitimizing the national interests of states in the energy sector based on the potential of international law are highlighted.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. The main conclusions of the study are as follows. Firstly, energy diplomacy is a new functional area of diplomatic activity. It has a single essence with “classical” diplomacy (to serve as a means of implementing foreign policy, in accordance with international law) and, at the same time, is characterized by a number of features derived from the energy sector and energy law (a special focus on the implementation of the goals and objectives of the state's foreign energy policy, the participation of energy departments in it and the connection of energy companies, methods used in it). Secondly, energy diplomacy and international law in the process of their development and functioning are mutually linked and have a reciprocal influence. International law, firstly, defines the legal framework and forms of implementation of energy diplomacy (as well as diplomatic activity in general), and secondly, plays a decisive role in legitimizing the national interests of states in the field of foreign energy policy carried out through energy diplomacy. In turn, energy diplomacy, relying on the potential of international law, contributes to ensuring energy security (national and international) and, thereby, to maintaining the international energy order. In general, energy diplomacy influences the process of creation and operation of international law norms and contributes to the development of international law.

Sustainable energy efficiency in China from the perspective of environmental development: A comprehensive analysis of regional disparities and policy implications

Global agreements have emerged in order to achieve carbon neutrality as the needs for renewable energy sources and carbon reduction continue to grow. To achieve the global carbon neutrality goals, China, one of the largest carbon emitters, must improve urban energy efficiency. Using a three-stage slacks-based measure (SBM) technique, this study analyses the total factor energy efficiency of 270 prefecture-level cities from 2011 through 2020. It tries to monitor and evaluate energy efficiency without taking into account variations in the outside environment. China's total factor energy efficiency shows an overall rising trend, despite significant regional variations. Improved energy efficiency levels can be attributed to technical advancements, while limitations in technology contribute to lower energy efficiency in certain areas. The study highlights the importance of considering external environmental factors in evaluating energy efficiency, able to avoid an overestimation of China's overall energy efficiency. It is noteworthy that the eastern region consistently outperforms the national average in terms of energy use efficiency. Even after taking environmental factors out of the equation, the central, west, and northeast regions still have worse energy efficiency and slower rates of growth. On this basis, from strengthening energy management and planning; facilitating cross-regional sharing of expertise; take targeted policy measures to adapt to the characteristics of the western and northeastern regions and put forward policy suggestions. These guidelines contribute to international energy cooperation and carbon reduction initiatives, while promoting sustainable energy development in China.

Vectors of development of energy cooperation between Russia and foreign countries under economic sanctions

The subject of this study is the modern aspects of Russia’s positioning in the global energy space. They are associated with the shift from the previously established liberal world order and the trend towards new polarisation in the world economic system, as well as with the increasing risks of turbulence in world energy markets. In this regard, it is extremely important to assess the real impact of economic sanctions on the nature of relationships and determine promising vectors for the development of energy cooperation between Russia and foreign countries. The research methodology includes analysis and synthesis methods and a historical approach, which are productively used to assess the tactical and strategic actions of our country in the system of international energy cooperation. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the substantiation of theoretical approaches and assessment of the practical implementation of energy cooperation with foreign countries. Those priority interests are considered that determine the economic sovereignty and identity of Russia in the conditions of a gradual but categorical shift of the world community from the previously established imperatives of liberalism and economic globalisation. The article is of an overview nature and describes the key areas of cooperation in the oil and gas and coal industries. Its main provisions may be used for long-term researches related to modernising the strategy of Russia’s foreign economic relations and increasing the level of its foreign economic security in the context of new global challenges.

Visualizing the intellectual structure and evolution of carbon neutrality research: a bibliometric analysis.

Carbon neutrality is a research hotspot and achieves increasing interests in recent years. In this paper, utilizing the Web of Science database as the data resource, we conduct a series of analyses for the carbon neutrality-related literature from the past decade based on CiteSpace, including the visualization analysis for the research hotspots and trends, discovery of intellectual structure and influential directions, as well as the cooperation analysis for representative researchers, organizations, and countries. The findings demonstrate that (a) the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth has achieved increasing academic interests in recent years. (b) There are mainly four knowledge groups at present in this area including renewable energy and carbon emissions; international energy cooperation and investment; energy regulations and policies of different countries; technological innovation and economic growth. (c) Cooperations exist widely within various authors, institutions, as well as countries, with academic clusters developed towards the goals of energy transitions, environmental sustainability, city development, etc.

Hydrogen trends in the transformation of international economic relations: concepts and realities

The modern international energy agenda is aimed at solving the problem of climate change and at developing clean energy technologies. Prospects of the world energy market related to hydrogen technologies in some cases lead to the adoption of insufficiently substantiated geopolitical and mutually beneficial technological solutions. In this regard, there is a progressive transition from carbon fuel to post-carbon (hydrogen), the paradigm of world energy is changing. The actual question arises of how this transformation will affect the energy security of the countries of the world. The intensification of strategic initiative for the development of hydrogen energy sources is an economically controversial but necessary step in terms of social and environmental effects. The article attempts to consider hydrogen from the point of view of an integral assessment of its characteristics and new geopolitical realities. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that the impact of the upcoming energy crisis, which changed approaches to European energy security, has not yet been sufficiently studied in scientific research against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis and the subsequent sanctions against Russia. In the course of ongoing geopolitical events, the idea of hydrogen transformation requires studying the influence of the above factors in order to understand the upcoming changes and new realities in international energy cooperation.

Research on the Cultivation of Interdisciplinary Translation Talents in the Energy Field---Take Colleges and Universities in Southwest China as Examples

With "the Belt and Road Initiative", China's energy cooperation with countries along the route has deepened, and the shortage of high-quality interdisciplinary translation talents in energy field has become increasingly obvious. To accelerate the development of "the Belt and Road Initiative" and improve international energy cooperation, the initiative has put forward new requirements for interdisciplinary translation talents in the energy field. This paper analyzes the current situation and problems of cultivating interdisciplinary translation talents in the energy field, and then puts forward some thoughts on the cultivation of interdisciplinary translation talents in the energy field.

Analysis of spatiotemporal difference and driving factors of green total factor energy efficiency in RCEP members: insights from SBM-GML and Tobit models.

It is vital to determine the changing spatiotemporal patterns and driving factors of green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) in order to design scientific policies to promote energy efficiency in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) region. From 2010 to 2019, the super-efficient SBM model and the global Malmquist-Luenberger index provide an appropriate framework for measuring the spatiotemporal evolution of GTFEE and the dynamics of energy productivity in RCEP countries. With the coefficient of variation and the Thiel index, an extensive view of the spatiotemporal variance in GTFEE is offered, taking regional heterogeneity into account. Furthermore, the Tobit model is introduced to investigate the factors influencing the GTFEE of RCEP members, which may address the restricted values of the dependent variable when compared to the least squares regression model. Findings suggest that (1) The GTFEE of RCEP members tends to be low and unevenly distributed spatially and temporally, with much room for improvement. (2) The energy productivity index fluctuates strongly, and the improvement primarily comes from technological progress. (3) The Non-ASEAN region possesses higher GTFEE than the ASEAN region, albeit regional variations are diminishing. (4) In terms of the major factors influencing the regional GTFEE, the non-ASEAN region looks to be distinct from the ASEAN region. The findings shed light on the trends and influencing factors of GTFEE in RCEP and serve as a resource for international energy cooperation and sustainable development.

Research on the Characteristics of China's Foreign Energy Discourse

This article focuses on the research of the characteristics of foreign energy discourse from the perspective of "One Belt One Road". Combined with the current international economic background, the international energy cooperation language discourse and activities relevant documents reading are carried out through a horizontal and vertical comparative analysis. It is mainly about the language itself to analyze energy discourse development, existing problems and improvement measures. From the case analysis of scientific knowledge competition and discourse construction in the international energy field, it can be seen that adding the scientific and technological discourse perspective to study energy transition is conducive to a deeper understanding of the future energy strategic pattern and direction. It is also advantageous to the huge driving force contained in energy transition to promote China's development and international system change. It requires us to consider the international background work understanding and the language plan itself. We are supposed to analyze the current political hotspots reasonably such as the situation in Russia, Ukraine and related energy development strategies, and conduct in-depth exploration of energy academic discourse studies socially and contemporarily. Besides, it is significant to highlight the times development theme to promote global energy governance.

Development of international energy cooperation:a comparative analysis of the strategies of China and Russia in the post-pandemic era

The situation of the global energy transition not only poses new challenges for China-Russian energy cooperation, but also creates conditions for China and Russia to jointly build a new global energy management order. In order to maintain the sustainable development of China-Russian energy cooperation, it is necessary to pay special attention to changes in the energy strategy of China and Russian. This is of promising importance for ensuring the energy security of the two countries, deepening the strategic interface of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, promoting the formation of a new global energy management system and developing a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Russia in a new post-pandemic era. This article examines the prerequisites and reasons for changes in the energy policy of China and Russia in the process of global energy transition. The authors note the main directions of the White Paper "China's Energy Development in a New Era" and "Russia's Energy Strategy for the period up to 2035" as the strategic documents, demonstrating the priorities of the two countries, taking into account the prospects for their domestic economic development and the international situation. The article analyzes the similarities and differences between the strategies of China and Russian in the energy sector, based on a comparative analysis of recent changes in the field of international energy cooperation and its adjustments by China and Russia, the distinctive features corresponding to the national interests of each of the two countries are identified.

Applying the three-stage SBM-DEA model to evaluate energy efficiency and impact factors in RCEP countries

Improving regional energy efficiency is the key to solving global energy problems. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as the world's largest free trade zone, energy cooperation is an integral part of the agreement. This paper uses the three-stage SBM-DEA model to analyze the energy efficiency and influencing factors of 13 RCEP countries from 2000 to 2015. The results show that, first, the overall energy efficiency of RCEP is poor at 0.384, with China and Japan having relatively high energy efficiency and Brunei and Cambodia having the worst energy efficiency. The average energy efficiency of developed countries is greater than that of developing countries. Second, optimizing the industrial structure and energy consumption structure can improve energy efficiency. Merchandise trade and government efficiency also have a positive impact on energy efficiency. The development of the tourism industry has unexpectedly reduced energy efficiency. Third, external environmental factors affect energy efficiency differently in each country. Except for China, Japan, and Korea, external environmental factors can lead to overestimating energy efficiency in other countries in RCEP. Finally, some suggestions are put forward to improve the RCEP's energy efficiency. The research results are helpful to understand the changing trend and influencing factors of RCEP's energy efficiency and can provide a reference for international energy cooperation, which is of great practical significance.

Ensuring Energy Security in China through International Energy Cooperation

Energy security is an overall and crucial issue related to a country’s economic and social development. It is essential to the country’s development, the improvement of people’s lives, and the long-term stability of society. International energy cooperation has always played an important role in ensuring energy security. As the connotation of energy security shifts toward multiple dimensions, the positioning and main tasks of international energy cooperation are facing renewal and evolution. Based on the latest domestic and foreign situations in the energy sector and considering the new connotation of energy security, this study comprehensively elaborates the positioning of international energy cooperation in China in the new era and analyzes the key issues in the recent international energy cooperation. It is pointed out by the research that the new energy security concept proposes new and higher requirements for China’s international energy cooperation. In the near future, it should focus on promoting the establishment of a diversified import and trade pattern for oil and gas, strengthen the interconnection of electricity with neighboring countries, increase cooperation in advanced energy technologies, and actively participate in and lead the global energy governance, so as to lay a solid foundation to ensure energy security under open-up conditions.

Перспективы и вызовы международного экономического и энергетического сотрудничества после пандемии COVID-19

The article examines the trends that hinder the development of international energy and economic cooperation in 2018–2020. These trends have been particularly exacerbated by the COVID‑19 pandemic and the resulting global economic and energy crisis. Falling demand for oil has affected the decline in world commodity prices. Competition between oil exporters has intensified amid falling demand. As a result, international energy cooperation mechanisms in the energy sector have come under serious pressure. The dynamics of relations between the world’s largest economic centers: China, the United States, the European Union, and the Eurasian space have become another aspect of the aggravation of imbalances and confrontational trends in the global economy. The strengthening of trade contradictions between the United States and China in 2018–2019 negatively affected global economic growth and the dynamics of major manufacturing indices. In turn, the events of 2020 clearly confirmed that the contradictions between China and the United States are of a deep structural nature. These contradictions exacerbate the polarization of the global economic system and cannot be overcome by concessions and agreements exclusively in the field of investment and trade. Against this background, the real effectiveness of measures taken in the EU to deal with the economic consequences of both the pandemic and Brexit is questionable, and can only be reliably assessed after a sufficiently long time. The authors show that in contrast to the situation in the EU, the EAEU has tendencies to further strengthen economic, political and energy cooperation. Despite the COVID‑19 pandemic, the global economic crisis and external challenges, the Eurasian Economic Union not only stands up to them, but also continues to actively work to unite the Union’s countries, as well as improve their energy and economic security. The authors offer their vision of further development of international economic and energy cooperation in the post-pandemic period, taking into account the positive trends in the development of the Eurasian space.

Energy Cooperation With North Korea: Conditions Making Renewable Energy Appropriate

North Korea remains one of the countries whose energy conditions should be drastically improved not just for its own people but also for the international community to achieve multiple energy-related goals under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To generate future energy cooperation ideas, this study examines previously proposed or implemented programs between North Korea and international entities, recognizing that they have largely neglected to incorporate the evolving local energy landscape and priorities of North Korea. This study thus pays particular attention to the development and diffusion of renewable energy under the Kim Jong-un administration, from which it draws a policy-oriented suggestion that the renewable energy field could offer a path to future international energy cooperation with North Korea.

Международное энергетическое сотрудничество как одна из форм международных экономических отношений

Международное энергетическое сотрудничество как одна из форм международных экономических отношений

Ordoliberal theory and gas market in Germany within the framework of international energy cooperation

German economic policy is a special model of a coordinated market economy, which is based on the tradition of ordoliberalism. This theoretical concept is at the core of the regulation of most economic processes in Germany, and its energy markets are no exception. The article analyses the present state of German gas industry, its transformation in connection with the introduction of the Third Energy Package, the liberalization and development of gas projects. The authors compare the main results of the reforms and the stipulations of the ordoliberal theory. The conclusion is that the German government generally upholds this concept, although sometimes the consequences are of negative nature, manifested in rising prices, added complexity of international natural gas trade, especially with the largest supplier – the Russian Federation. Using the Bertrand competition model, the article justifies the conditions under which the export of liquefied natural gas is beneficial for the Russian Federation.

International energy cooperation in East Asian region: problems and perspectives

International energy cooperation in East Asian region: problems and perspectives

Current Situation, Challenges and Strategies of Energy International Cooperation for Local Government under the “Belt and Road”

International energy cooperation under the Belt and Road initiative plays a significant role in maintaining energy security and promoting economic and social development in China. This paper analyzed the current situation of energy international cooperation for local government, and stated the main challenges of energy international cooperation for local government under the “Belt and Road”. Finally, this paper puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to strengthen international energy cooperation for local government under the Belt and Road initiative.

Institutions of international energy cooperation in North-East Asia region

The article deals with the problems of international energy cooperation (IEC) development in North-East Asia region (NEA). There is a process of gradual formation of common regional energy markets, which requires the improvement of international cooperation institutions. At the moment this process is in early stage, but the experience of such integration structures as the European Union and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) demonstrates that energy cooperation can be effective and beneficial to all participants. The countries of NorthEast Asia need to develop international electricity grids and natiral gas pipelines, which stimulates the evolution of common energy markets institutions with the active participation of both government bodies and private energy companies. Keywords: energy cooperation, energy policy, institutions, North-East Asia region.

Networking through International Energy Organizations: Comparison by Trade Type

This study investigates differences regarding international energy cooperation among countries by energy trade type. In particular, it classifies 49 major oil and natural gas trading countries into...

Risk evaluation model of the whole life cycle of wind power project in China: Based on fuzzy theory

China is paying more and more attention to the development of environment protection and clean energy, and regarding the wind power as the important content of developing international energy cooperation under the background of “B & R”. This paper tries to apply fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) of the trigonometric function to establish risk evaluation model of the whole life cycle of wind power project and expand the research perspective of risk management wind power project.