The Effect of Energy Geopolitics on International Climate Change Initiatives

Abstract

In this article in general the relationship between international climate change initiatives and energy geopolitics was analyzed and in particular the developments in energy geopolitics were investigated with a historical point of view by dividing the years between 1965 and 2014 into periods of geopolitical intensity and geopolitical stability based on long-term periodic variations in oil prices. More specifically the reasons why international initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol regarded as an important agreement for imposing commitments in climate change mitigation have not been sufficiently successful were investigated. Regarding the Kyoto Protocol the failure stemmed from three main reasons. The first and the most important reason was the intensification of geopolitical tensions on a global scale. The second reason was the differences among states in terms of their energy needs and possession of indigenous energy sources. The last reason was the ambiguity regarding the role of the state and the market at the implementation level. The author links the general failure in the efforts to tackle climate change to the developments in energy geopolitics and argues that the competition periods in energy geopolitics as observed during the oil crises decrease the chances of success for international initiatives on climate change.