Energy Policy Choices in the Current World

Instytut Badań Ekonomicznych Wydziału Biznesu i Stosunków Międzynarodowych
Akademii Finansów i Biznesu Vistula zaprasza na otwarte seminarium naukowe, na którym referat nt.: Energy Policy Choices in the Current World: The Case of Central Asia, wygłosi Mr Vladimir Fedorenko, PhD Cantidate

Seminarium odbędzie się 13 kwietnia 2015 r. o godz. 11:00 w siedzibie AFiBV przy ul. Stokłosy 3 (sala 21)

Summary:
Energy policy is an inalienable part of economic strategy of  any country. Especially for the landlocked developing economies of Central Asian republics energy plays an instrumental role in achieving sustainable growth and robust economic development.  Due to global ever-growing energy demand and rapid technological developments, energy sector is of the most dynamic and lucrative, therefore, Central Asian governments have to take into account price fluctuations and energy market trends while rethinking energy policies and reconstructing national energy strategies.

Moreover, despite proximity of republics’ location, the nature of the energy resource they possess varies drastically. For instance, some of republics are rich in hydroelectric potential but poor in hydrocarbon resources, while others possess hydrocarbon resources in abundance. As a result, to utilize its energy resources every state in the region has to create trade partnerships, finance constructions, attract foreign investors, bring extraction or energy generating technologies, build transmission routes, monetize commodity and build human capacity by taking into consideration  its own opportunities.   

There is much enthusiasm in government and private sectors regarding renewable energy. In fact, along with hydropower Central Asian region has considerable amount of other renewable energy resources such as solar, wind power, biomass and others. As a result of rapidly growing technological progress, the cost of exploiting renewable energy technology is constantly decreasing and becoming more reliable and efficient. However, due to significant decrease in price of crude oil, investors and stakeholders could be discouraged to invest into long-term renewable technologies due to opportunity cost of importing inexpensive oil in the neighborhood.

What is the best strategy for the Central Asian states to satisfy their domestic energy demands, diversify routes and secure energy supply considering recent changes in the energy sector?  The dilemma of the regional governments is to choose between development of the independent national energy policy or continuing importing energy from the hydrocarbon-rich neighbors. Exploiting domestic energy resources could be time-consuming, risky and require considerable financial investments; however, it would contribute to energy independence and diversification of energy supply routes. In contrast, importing energy resources offers a prompt and convenient solution for satisfying domestic energy needs, yet increases state’s energy dependence and energy supply insecurity that eventually could lead to a number of economic and political constrains.