Energy security should have more weight in low carbon scenarios

The briefing critiques the EU's Energy Roadmap 2050 for providing only a "superficial treatment" of energy security, primarily limiting its analysis to import dependency and grid stability. The authors argue that energy security is a complex concept encompassing not only security of supply but also security of demand, economic and political risks, and environmental threats. They highlight that the roadmap relies on implicit assumptions—such as the guaranteed expansion of transmission infrastructure and the resolution of nuclear security issues—which may conceal potential challenges in the transition to a low-carbon system. The document advocates for a shift from purely quantitative metrics to a framework that includes qualitative assessments and considers the perspectives of various actors, including households and industries.

• The EU's Energy Roadmap 2050 treats energy security superficially, focusing almost exclusively on security of supply, specifically import dependency and variable electricity production, while ignoring other dimensions of security.
• Energy security is a multidimensional concept that extends beyond security of supply to include security of demand, as well as economic, social, political, technological, and environmental risks.
• The Energy Roadmap 2050 relies on implicit assumptions that mask potential security risks, such as assuming that nuclear security problems will be solved and that transmission infrastructure investments will be sufficient to secure renewable energy supply.
• The roadmap's reliance on quantitative factors, such as measuring security through a percentage of import dependency, is criticized for being insufficient and potentially contradicting theories of international relations where mutual interdependence can enhance security.
• The decarbonization scenarios in the roadmap are too similar and fail to explore more transformative system changes, such as a transition to 100% renewables, which could better reveal potential security implications.

APA

Johansson, B., Jonsson, D. K., Månsson, A., Nilsson, L. J., & Nilsson, M. (2014). Energy security should have more weight in low carbon scenarios. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2014-DiscussionBrief-EnergySecurityShouldHaveMoreWeightInLowCarbonScenarios.pdf

Chicago

Johansson, Bengt, Daniel K Jonsson, André Månsson, Lars J Nilsson, and Måns Nilsson. Energy security should have more weight in low carbon scenarios. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2014-DiscussionBrief-EnergySecurityShouldHaveMoreWeightInLowCarbonScenarios.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{johansson2014energy, author = {Johansson, Bengt and Jonsson, Daniel K and Månsson, André and Nilsson, Lars J and Nilsson, Måns}, title = {{Energy security should have more weight in low carbon scenarios}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2014-DiscussionBrief-EnergySecurityShouldHaveMoreWeightInLowCarbonScenarios.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }