Workshop Readout: Clean Energy is National Security

The workshop highlighted that Japan's continued reliance on fossil fuel imports creates acute security vulnerabilities and trade-offs, particularly when intersecting with climate hazards and geopolitical tensions. Participants identified that public opinion can be a driver for the renewable energy transition if technology is perceived as viable, and suggested that Japan should pursue an energy resilience alliance with like-minded countries such as South Korea and Taiwan. The report emphasizes the need for deeper inter-governmental dialogue across Japanese ministries to integrate climate security into national defense planning and to mitigate supply chain risks associated with renewable technology, specifically reliance on China.

• Japan faces increasingly difficult security trade-offs due to its dependence on fossil fuels, potentially struggling to simultaneously maintain fuel access in the Middle East, deter Chinese aggression near Taiwan, address vulnerabilities related to Russia, and respond to domestic climate disasters.
• The workshop revealed that Japan's reliance on specific partners for energy can create critical chokepoints; for example, a scenario involving the loss of Australian coal imports due to political change and climate hazards was described as an "eye-opening possibility".
• Public opinion in Japan is not a fixed variable and could drive the renewable energy transition if the government highlights security benefits and ensures that technologies are perceived as safe, affordable, and feasible.
• Climate-driven disasters may reduce the availability of international humanitarian aid as donor countries face their own climate risks, and there is a risk that authoritarian nations could lead disaster response to worsen regional security.
• There is potential for an energy resilience alliance between countries with low self-sufficiency and high import reliance, such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, to coordinate transitions and develop contingency plans for global energy crises.
• To mitigate security risks, Japan needs increased inter-agency collaboration between the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, the Self Defense Forces, and the Ministry of Environment.
• While the transition to renewable energy introduces new supply chain risks, particularly a reliance on Chinese technology exports, participants agreed that maintaining the current fossil fuel-dependent energy system is a more undesirable alternative.
• A disconnect exists between the planning horizons of the defense sector and the energy sector; energy officials and industry often view 2050 as a near horizon, whereas defense officials typically do not plan that far ahead.

APA

Boland, L., Wong, E., & Sikorsky, E. (2024). Workshop Readout: Clean Energy is National Security. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/03/05/workshop-readout-clean-energy-is-national-security/

Chicago

Boland, Lily, Ethan Wong, and Erin Sikorsky. Workshop Readout: Clean Energy is National Security. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2024. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/03/05/workshop-readout-clean-energy-is-national-security/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Boland |first1=Lily |last2=Wong |first2=Ethan |last3=Sikorsky |first3=Erin |title=Workshop Readout: Clean Energy is National Security |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=5 March 2024 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/03/05/workshop-readout-clean-energy-is-national-security/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{boland2024workshop, author = {Boland, Lily and Wong, Ethan and Sikorsky, Erin}, title = {{Workshop Readout: Clean Energy is National Security}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/03/05/workshop-readout-clean-energy-is-national-security/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }