Geopolitics of the energy transition

Geopolitics of energy transition has increasingly become the frontier and hot research area of world energy geography and global political science. Different historical periods are characterised by obvious differences in energy connotations, attributes, and geopolitical characteristics. In the new energy era, energy geopolitics becomes more diversified, complex, and comprehensive. In this paper, we compare the geopolitical characteristics of energy in the fossil fuel and renewable energy periods, and provide an overview of current study trends in new energy geopolitics. Recent research shows that the global energy transition will intensify the reconstruction of geopolitical patterns, change the relationship between geopolitical security and conflict dominated by traditional energy security, alter the role of different countries in global energy geopolitical games, reshape national energy relationships formed in the traditional oil and gas era. In addition, geopolitics will be affected by new energy technologies, availability of key rare materials, and energy cybersecurity measures. Despite considerable attention to this research topic, the likely geopolitical impact of energy transition remains uncertain, and there is still room for the development and improvement of the theoretical framework, technical methods, and research perspective. Looking forward to the future, the research into geopolitics of energy transition urgently needs to strengthen its theoretical basis and rely on the scientific and quantitative methods. The practical conclusions of the research into geopolitics of energy transition should strengthen major national energy security decisions, explore the geographical effect of energy transition, and determine the impact of energy transition on energy security. Research into geopolitics of energy transition should be carried out taking into account international academic frontiers such as climate change, “carbon peak” and “carbon neutral” goals, and global energy governance, to enrich the research perspective of world energy geography.