Global Utilities

La Trobe University
Centre for Dialogue

Energy Security in an Era of Climate Change

Thursday 16 July — Friday 17 July

From the impact of extreme weather events on highly centralised energy networks, to oil worker strikes in Venezuela; to rapidly increasing energy demand in fast growing economies like India and China, and to decreasing domestic fossil fuel supplies in the United States and Europe, the global implications of energy security have become increasingly visible and troublesome.

This two-day workshop, sponsored by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, brought together leading figures from academia, government, science, investment and NGO sectors to discuss the challenges posed to energy security in light of climate change.

Presenters included:

  • Dr Mark Diesendorf (University of NSW)
  • Prof Peter Droege (University of Newcastle)
  • Prof Jim Falk (University of Melbourne)
  • Mr Josh Cosgrave (Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism)
  • Dr William Lilley (CSIRO)
  • Dr Richard Leaver (Flinders University)
  • Mr Mark Lister (Szencorp)
  • Prof Xu Yi-Chong (Griffith University)
  • Dr Hugh Saddler (Sustainability Advice Team and Energy Strategies)
  • Dr John Symons (Lingnan University, Hong Kong)
  • Dr Luca Anceschi (La trobe University)
  • Dr Tulsi Charan Bisht (La Trobe University)
  • Prof Joseph A. Camilleri (La Trobe University)

The workshop examined geostrategic, economic, environmental and cultural considerations that will shape Australia’s energy security options. The workshop facilitated lively debate and a productive interdisciplinary exchange of ideas.

The key areas explored included:

  1. The problem of energy security in four key regions: East Asia, North America, Western Europe and Central Asia;
  2. Linkages between regional and global energy policy, and between energy security policies and environmental, geostrategic and economic security;
  3. The impact of energy security policies and relationships on Australian decision making processes;
  4. The responses that Australian policy-makers have so far developed to energy security threats;
  5. The role that Australia can and should play in international diplomacy, and especially in the Asia-Pacific context, with a view to promoting a more effective regional framework.