Rapidly increasing global demand in energy: A source of Geopolitical conflict?
By Sophia Jeanmamod-Karim
With the rapid increase of human population and technological development, the global demand for both fossil fuels and renewable energy has been increasing as well. The multiplication in the use of energy, particularly fossil fuels and the idea of sustainable energy has become the source of certain geopolitical conflicts.
Fundamentally, oil and natural gas production has caused many civil wars in African countries. For example, the guerilla groups attacked oil harvesting and storage infrastructures in Nigeria. Their motives were that foreign countries exploited their resources while keeping most of the wealth for themselves, which causes unequal development between these countries. Similarly, with the increase of renewable energy sources, more developed countries have expanded their biofuel crop plantations around the world. This expansion has begun to push indigenous peoples off their land which jeopardises their culture and the environments they live in. According to UN research, about 5 million indigenous people risk being displaced to urban areas due to biofuel land expansion.
There have been recent reports of a migration crisis in the US in coastal regions due to rising sea levels. It is no secret that high use of fossil fuels for energy leads to climate change, which has begun to pose a threat to coastal populations as sea levels have started to rise. These inhabitants have had to relocate inland to escape the rising waters, posing political, social and economic threats. According to a report done by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) in February, the US coastline could rise from 10 to 12 inches in the next 13 years, which would also increase the risk of flooding. We can see that the increased global use of fossil fuels and polluting energy sources over the years has taken a toll on coastal populations.
To conclude, the increase of the global population growth and demand in energy has had multiple impacts on societies around the world. The main issues include use of fossil fuels which induce climate change, the need for land to cultivate biofuel and inequalities between nations causing conflicts.
Sources:
Reference list
Cosmosmagazine.com. (2023). [online] Available at: https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/What-is-energy.jpg [Accessed 27 Jan. 2023].
Mongabay Environmental News. (2007). Biofuels displace indigenous people. [online] Available at: https://news.mongabay.com/2007/05/biofuels-displace-indigenous-people/ [Accessed 2 Jan. 2023].
Ufberg, M. (2022). ‘It’s happening now’: how rising sea levels are causing a US migration crisis. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/07/its-happening-now-how-rising-sea-levels-are-causing-a-us-migration-crisis [Accessed 2 Jan. 2023].
