What does energy demand have to do with energy security?

Energy security has been at the top of the political agenda. This webinar examined the role that energy demand plays in supporting it. Energy security has been a key political priority, but most solutions have focused on securing increased energy supplies. This EDRC webinar, co-hosted by the UK Energy Research Centre, explored the often overlooked role of energy demand in strengthening energy security.

Around the world, prices have risen for everything from petrol to food to consumer goods, reflecting disruptions to oil and gas supply caused by the US/Israeli attack on Iran. In the EU, the Energy Commissioner recommended that people drive and fly less, while governments across South East Asia reduced working hours for public servants to conserve scarce fuel supplies.

This Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC) webinar examined the impact of these developments on energy security in the UK. It focused on the role of energy demand in supporting more secure and resilient communities and shaping geopolitics both in the short and long term. The discussion considered community and policy options for delivering beneficial outcomes and ensuring that the UK is less exposed to volatile geopolitical and climatic conditions in the future.

Speakers:

Dr Marie Claire Brisbois, Lecturer in Environmental Governance at UCL and author of UK Energy Security: Making the Most of Demand-Side Measures.

Prof Caroline Kuzemko, Professor in the Political Economy of Climate Change; Co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre UKERC; Director of the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation; and Director of the MA in the Politics of Climate Change.

Prof Jim Watson, Professor of Energy Policy and Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources; Adjunct Professor with the NTNU Energy Transition Initiative; Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences; UK Executive Committee member of the European Energy Research Alliance, and steering group chair of the UKRI Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrator programme; a judge for the Kings Awards for Enterprise: Sustainable Development; a member of the Executive Committee of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement; and a commissioner with the Energy Crisis Commission.