Protecting Korea's National Security with Renewable Energy

The report argues that South Korea's heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports—approximately 84% of its total energy supply—creates significant national security vulnerabilities due to geopolitical tensions and climate risks. It posits that transitioning to renewable energy would reduce exposure to fragile maritime chokepoints, lower fiscal strain, and improve military readiness. While acknowledging challenges such as China's dominance in critical mineral supply chains and cybersecurity risks from digitization, the report concludes these are manageable compared to the structural risks of fossil fuel dependence. It recommends integrating renewable energy targets into national security planning and leveraging the newly created Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to energy resilience.

• South Korea's energy system is highly vulnerable due to its dependence on imports, with 84% of its total energy supply imported in 2024, primarily as fossil fuels (46% oil, 21% coal, and 18% natural gas).
• Fossil fuel supply chains are exposed to multiple geopolitical and climate-driven risks, including maritime chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca, potential conflict over Taiwan, and extreme weather events such as Pacific cyclones affecting coal exports from Australia.
• Climate change poses direct threats to energy infrastructure; a one-meter sea level rise could threaten six key supplier ports providing 70% of crude imports and four receiving ports in Seoul, impacting 100% of refining capacity.
• Modeling from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests South Korea could feasibly achieve 80% clean electricity generation by 2035, with 50% from wind and solar PV and 30% from nuclear power, while phasing out all coal-fired generation.
• The surge in artificial intelligence (AI) investment, including a $7 billion government pledge and $400 billion from Samsung and Hyundai, will significantly increase power demand, which could be met through 'carbon-aware computing' or dedicated renewable energy sources.
• While China dominates critical mineral supply chains for renewables, this is viewed as a manageable risk because renewable technologies (like solar panels lasting 35 years) do not require the continuous, existential replenishment of fuel that fossil fuel systems do.
• The transition to a more digitalized and dispersed renewable energy grid increases the cybersecurity attack surface, but also allows for more efficient security updates compared to legacy fossil fuel infrastructure.

APA

Baxter, C., Ellison, T., Boland, L., Fritzhand, N., & Sikorsky, E. (2026). Protecting Korea's National Security with Renewable Energy. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2026/02/02/protecting-koreas-national-security-with-renewable-energy/

Chicago

Baxter, Caroline, Tom Ellison, Lily Boland, Noah Fritzhand, and Erin Sikorsky. Protecting Korea's National Security with Renewable Energy. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2026. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2026/02/02/protecting-koreas-national-security-with-renewable-energy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Baxter |first1=Caroline |last2=Ellison |first2=Tom |last3=Boland |first3=Lily |last4=Fritzhand |first4=Noah |last5=Sikorsky |first5=Erin |title=Protecting Korea's National Security with Renewable Energy |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=2 February 2026 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2026/02/02/protecting-koreas-national-security-with-renewable-energy/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{baxter2026protecting, author = {Baxter, Caroline and Ellison, Tom and Boland, Lily and Fritzhand, Noah and Sikorsky, Erin}, title = {{Protecting Korea's National Security with Renewable Energy}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2026/02/02/protecting-koreas-national-security-with-renewable-energy/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }