Protecting Korea’s National Security with Renewable Energy

The report argues that South Korea's heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels (84% of total energy supply) creates critical security vulnerabilities exposed to geopolitical conflicts and climate-driven disruptions. It posits that a rapid shift toward renewables can mitigate these risks, reduce financial burdens on the state, and support the energy demands of advanced defense and AI technologies. While acknowledging challenges such as China's dominance in critical mineral supply chains and cybersecurity risks associated with grid digitalization, the document concludes these are manageable through diversification, battery storage innovation, and strategic policy integration.

• Fossil fuel supply chains are threatened by geopolitical chokepoints including the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Malacca, and the South China Sea, as well as potential conflicts involving North Korea and Taiwan.
• Climate change poses both acute and gradual risks to energy infrastructure; for instance, a 1-meter sea-level rise could impact six major oil supply ports and four receiving ports in Korea, affecting 100% of refining capacity.
• While China dominates the critical mineral supply chain for renewables, this dependency is structurally different and less risky than fossil fuel dependency because minerals in batteries and panels last for years or decades rather than being consumed instantly.
• Modeling from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) suggests South Korea could achieve 80% clean power generation by 2035, with 50% coming from wind and solar, while reducing fossil fuel generation to 20%.

APA

Baxter, C., Boland, L., Ellison, T., Fritzhand, N., & Sikorsky, E. (2026). Protecting Korea’s National Security with Renewable Energy. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Korea-Clean-Energy-KR.pdf

Chicago

Baxter, Caroline, Lily Boland, Tom Ellison, Noah Fritzhand, and Erin Sikorsky. Protecting Korea’s National Security with Renewable Energy. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2026. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Korea-Clean-Energy-KR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Baxter |first1=Caroline |last2=Boland |first2=Lily |last3=Ellison |first3=Tom |last4=Fritzhand |first4=Noah |last5=Sikorsky |first5=Erin |title=Protecting Korea’s National Security with Renewable Energy |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=January 2026 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Korea-Clean-Energy-KR.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{baxter2026protecting, author = {Baxter, Caroline and Boland, Lily and Ellison, Tom and Fritzhand, Noah and Sikorsky, Erin}, title = {{Protecting Korea’s National Security with Renewable Energy}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Korea-Clean-Energy-KR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }