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February 17, 2015Proceedings of International Conference on Energy Security Challenges
An International Conference on Energy Security Challenges – Non Traditional Security Planning in India was organized on 12th & 13th December, 2014 by the CPPR-Centre for Strategic Studies in Association with US Consulate, Chennai.
The conference debated on how Energy security constitutes a crucial challenge that shapes and realigns the strategic relationships between countries. The conference was organized with the imperative to focus on the various non-traditional security challenges and the means to deal with them effectively in the larger interests of national security. The Conference was attended by eminent experts in the field of security and strategy, academicians and practitioners.
Speakers for the Conference included:
– Mr. T.P Sreenivasan, Former Ambassador of India
– Mr. Tom Cutler, President, Cutler International LLC and former Director of the Office of European and Asia Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy
– Ms. Andie DeArment, Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai
– Dr. A.Gopalkrishnan, Former Chairman, Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
– Mr.Raymond E Vickery Jr., Senior Director Albright Stonebridge Group LLC And Of Counsel, Hogan Lovells, LLP Washington, D.C.
– Mr. Nitin Pai, Director, Takshashila Institute, Bengaluru
– Dr. G.M Pillai, Director General, World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE), Pune
– Dr. Ashok Das, Founder CEO, SunMoksha, Bangalore
The Proceedings of the Conference:
- The speakers stated that Energy demand was expected to continue to rise leading to huge import dependence.
- There are internal and external threats to energy security in India. The central issue is how to secure electricity production without environmental degrading effects.
- The US-China agreement on green house gas emissions would put pressures on India to comply by the International agreement.
- The cost of imported nuclear reactors is 3-4 times the coal plants and twice indigenous nuclear reactors. There is also a constant hold on fuel supply. One cannot conclude that there is a need for nuclear power without a thorough examination of the current situation with other energy sources. The Indian nuclear sector is not well managed and even in the civilian nuclear area we are unnecessarily secretive.
- Fossil fuels would remain the dominant fuel around the world in the coming years to come. The Market is getting skewed to the Asian Economies. New suppliers are coming to the market. Oil is not only about markets but about politics and control. Price is an important factor in the strategy. OPEC now is trying to increase market share. There is a possibility to move to the traditional producers of gas. There is a surge in Pipeline diplomacies across the world where India has very little option. China does not have these problems because they are buying assets all over the world. In terms of strategic petroleum reserves in India, there is the difficulty for a 90 day reserve and difficulties to store in India; Russia is moving east and is likely to be more involved in Asian politics. India has to view the politics and markets of energy and specifically oil prices.
- Electricity had the highest Green House emissions in India. It is a fact that thermal and hydro-electric power sectors affect the environment more.
- One of the critical aspects of climate change has been the need to have low carbon strategies for inclusive growth as an optimal initiative in sustainable development.
- Three theoretical approaches to look at climate change and national security for a post -colonial society like India viz: Security theory, Social constructivism, Critical or Green Theory.
- One of the major incentives for climate change mitigation could come from technology transfers and subsidies from the developed countries (to read the complete proceedings, please download our full report)
