| Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, Global Public Policy

Climate change policies may come with global security challenges

On 22 October 2021, Prof. Andreas Goldthau participated in an online panel event at the Woodrow Wilson Center where he discussed geopolitical implications of the global energy transition.

Protest
Mauro Ujetto (2021), Shutterstock

In his intervention, Prof. Andreas Goldthau highlighted three key points. First, the low carbon energy transition will not end energy geopolitics. It will simply raise new challenges. Second, even in light of the global energy transition, many countries will still rely on others for their energy needs. Important dependencies will therefore remain, possibly on new energy commodities such as hydrogen. Third, one central challenge lies in leaving no one behind. Countries that lack the ability to transition as quickly as others may face economic disadvantages. In conclusion, Prof. Goldthau stressed that ambitious climate policies remain crucial also post-COP26. However, it will be important to give careful consideration to its possible side effects, such as security problems and newly created inequities.