The Russian coal sector today faces challenges in the form of global decarbonization, sanctions, and difficulties in retaining market access and competitiveness. This new market environment warrants an examination of what lessons can be drawn from the past tribulations of one of Russia’s most iconic and strategically important industries. This book analyzes the Russian coal industry developments in historical and political contexts, including those of energy transition. The key tenets of contemporary dialogue between Russia and those who advocate for a speedy energy transition to phase out coal are presented. The book addresses the question of the coal industry as a sacrifice for the sake of Russia’s rapprochement with the West. The contribution of this book, therefore, is filling the gap between two large research inquiries – climate change mitigation and energy transition on the one hand, and the existing large coal industry of a given country on the other.
Energy, and access to energy, are essential to human life, civilisation and development. A number of energy issues - including energy security, energy prices and the polluting emissions for energy use - now have high prominence on global agendas of policy and diplomacy. In addressing these and other global energy issues, the purpose of this book is to lay out the broad global energy landscape, exploring how these issues might develop in coming decades, and the implications of such developments for energy policy. There are great uncertainties, which will be identified, in respect of some of these issues, but many of the defining characteristics of the landscape are clear, and the energy policies of all countries will need to be broadly consistent with these if they are to be feasible and achieve their objectives. The book therefore provides information about and analysis of energy and related resources, and the technologies that have been and are being developed to exploit them that is essential to understanding how the global energy system is developing, and how it might develop in the future. But its main focus is the critical economic, social, political and cultural issues that will determine how energy systems will develop and which technologies are deployed, why, by whom, and who will benefit from them. The book has three Parts. Part I sets out the current global context for energy system developments, outlining the essential trends of global energy supply and demand, and atmospheric emissions, from the past and going forward, and their driving forces. Part II explores the options and choices, covering both energy demand and energy supply, facing national and international policymakers as they confront the challenges of the global context outlined in Part I. Part III of the book brings together the discussion in Parts I and II with consideration of possible global energy and environmental futures, and of the energy policy choices which will determine which future actually comes to pass.
The last decade has seen a revolution in global energy. First, we saw explosive growth in demand from Asia's rising powers, which fueled fears about scarcity and conflict. But we've also seen an American revolution in technology and markets, resulting in a dramatic increase in sup-ply. This is strengthening America's hand in the world—but it's not without complications. There are major security consequences of these shifts. Among the most consequential are China and India, Asia's emerging giants, which are increasingly exposed to political risks associated with energy risks, as well as the energy flows, pivoting to Asia. Meanwhile the great powers struggle to balance their need for fossil fuels with a mounting effort to tackle climate change. The top powers, and the United States above all, face a stra-tegic choice: whether to use energy as a weapon of geopolitics, or as a tool of a stable order. CONTENTS Introduction 1. The President and the King—Key Messages of the Book 2. The Energy Revolutions—A Primer Geopolitics in Flux—The Players 3. Choices—Scenarios, and the Choice the Powers Confront 4. Rough Seas Ahead—The Great Powers' Search for Energy Security Globalization and Complexity—The Problems 5. Transition in the Gulf 6. The Turbulent Middle 7. Fragile States 8. The Russian Problem 9. Connections—from Pipelines to Politics Governance—The Partners 10. An Emerging System of Global Energy Governance 11. Leadership Choices
Coal Production and Processing Technology provides uniquely comprehensive coverage of the latest coal technologies used in everything from mining to greenhouse gas mitigation. Featuring contributions from experts in industry and academia, this book:Discusses coal geology, characterization, beneficiation, combustion, coking, gasification, and liquef
The gas industry's future remains bright. Three major shifts will shape the evolution of global natural gas markets in the next five years - growing imports from China, greater industrial demand, and rising production from the United States. The structural shift will determine the evolution of the market at a time when growth in emerging markets is sustained by strong economic expansion and strong policy support to curb air pollution. Industry becomes a major player in gas markets, while the United States cements its position as a top producer and exporter thanks to its shale revolution. Gas 2018, the latest IEA annual market report, assesses these trends and provides a detailed analysis of supply and trade developments, infrastructure investments, and demand-growth forecast through 2023. The report analyses the main changes that will likely transform the natural gas market, including market reforms that shape supply and demand patterns in key Asian economies and developments in the LNG market - the main driver of interregional natural gas trade growth.
Global energy consumption will increase rapidly in the next decades. The discrepancy between demand and supply is worrisome within the old and new cores of the world-economy. Sub-Saharan Africa meanwhile possesses vast potential for energy resources to be further exploited. Whilst the Global North is a traditional player in the sub-Saharan energy sector, new actors from emerging economies - especially China’s state-owned enterprises but also Brazilian, Indian and South African giants - have entered what appears to be a scramble for the largely untapped energy resources of the region. This book is the first to bring together comparative perspectives on: · The strategies of state and non-state actors involved in the exploitation of sub-Saharan energy resources. · The potential and pitfalls of new forms of cooperation on energy southwards of the Sahara. · The domestic opportunities and challenges of the present energy resource boom. Dynamics on the international level are brought together with local developments to provide up-to-date insights on the scramble for energy resources in sub-Saharan Africa. This book also advances a materialist approach applicable in geographical and political-scientific research, showing that much insight can be gained by concentrating on the material environment that shapes economic and political phenomena.
Handbook of Multi-Commodity Markets and ProductsOver recent decades, the marketplace has seen an increasing integration, not only among different types of commodity markets such as energy, agricultural, and metals, but also with financial markets. This trend raises important questions about how to identify and analyse opportunities in and manage risks of commodity products. The Handbook of Multi-Commodity Markets and Products offers traders, commodity brokers, and other professionals a practical and comprehensive manual that covers market structure and functioning, as well as the practice of trading across a wide range of commodity markets and products. Written in non-technical language, this important resource includes the information needed to begin to master the complexities of and to operate successfully in today’s challenging and fluctuating commodity marketplace. Designed as a practical practitioner-orientated resource, the book includes a detailed overview of key markets – oil, coal, electricity, emissions, weather, industrial metals, freight, agricultural and foreign exchange – and contains a set of tools for analysing, pricing and managing risk for the individual markets. Market features and the main functioning rules of the markets in question are presented, along with the structure of basic financial products and standardised deals. A range of vital topics such as stochastic and econometric modelling, market structure analysis, contract engineering, as well as risk assessment and management are presented and discussed in detail with illustrative examples to commodity markets. The authors showcase how to structure and manage both simple and more complex multi-commodity deals. Addressing the issues of profit-making and risk management, the book reveals how to exploit pay-off profiles and trading strategies on a diversified set of commodity prices. In addition, the book explores how to price energy products and other commodities belonging to markets segmented across specific structural features. The Handbook of Multi-Commodity Markets and Products includes a wealth of proven methods and useful models that can be selected and developed in order to make appropriate estimations of the future evolution of prices and appropriate valuations of products. The authors additionally explore market risk issues and what measures of risk should be adopted for the purpose of accurately assessing exposure from multi-commodity portfolios. This vital resource offers the models, tools, strategies and general information commodity brokers and other professionals need to succeed in today’s highly competitive marketplace.
Our future hinges on a set of elements that few of us have even heard of. In this surprising and revealing book, David S. Abraham unveils what rare metals are and why our electronic gadgets, the most powerful armies, and indeed the fate of our planet depend on them. These metals have become the building blocks of modern society; their properties are now essential for nearly all our electronic, military, and “green” technologies. But their growing use is not without environmental, economic, and geopolitical consequences. Abraham traces these elements’ hidden paths from mines to our living rooms, from the remote hills of China to the frozen Gulf of Finland, providing vivid accounts of those who produce, trade, and rely on rare metals. He argues that these materials are increasingly playing a significant role in global affairs, conferring strength to countries and companies that can ensure sustainable supplies. Just as oil, iron, and bronze revolutionized previous eras, so too will these metals. The challenges this book reveals, and the plans it proposes, make it essential reading for our rare metal age.
