New Technologies and the Geopolitics of the Global Oil Economy in the Age of Energy Transition

Currently, the global community is on the threshold of a transition from fossil fuels as a result of transformations such as climate change, entailing the strict implementation of carbon setoff policies and quick progress in green technologies. A transition to clean, low-carbon energies will not only disrupt the global energy system, it will also impact the global economy and political dynamism within and without all states. Based on these transformations, the present article asks the question of how the energy transition will impact the geopolitical future of the global oil economy. The authors hypothesize the following in answer to this question: Given the superior, more advanced position of economic powers such as China and the US in clean energy technologies, we are likely to witness the weakening of traditional oil powers in a post-carbon world, such as the Middle East and North African countries (MENA) and Russia; in contrast, the balance of power will tilt heavily towards current energy consumers. Technology-savvy countries have the knowledge to reproduce and stabilize their power in the global economy. The traditional countries of the energy sector, however, face shortfalls in their infrastructure and modern technologies and will lose their geopolitical position to a large extent.