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The concept of energy security. Beyond the four As

Cherp, Aleh LU and Jewell, Jessica (2014) In Energy Policy 75(c). p.415-421
Abstract
Energy security studies have expanded from their classic beginnings following the 1970s oil crises to encompass various energy sectors and increasingly diverse issues. This viewpoint contributes to the re-examination of the meaning of energy security that has accompanied this expansion. Our starting point is that energy security is an instance of security in general and thus any concept of it should address three questions: “Security for whom?”, “Security for which values?” and “Security from what threats?” We examine an influential approach – the ‘four As of energy security’ (availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability) and related literature of energy security – to show it does not address these questions. We... (More)
Energy security studies have expanded from their classic beginnings following the 1970s oil crises to encompass various energy sectors and increasingly diverse issues. This viewpoint contributes to the re-examination of the meaning of energy security that has accompanied this expansion. Our starting point is that energy security is an instance of security in general and thus any concept of it should address three questions: “Security for whom?”, “Security for which values?” and “Security from what threats?” We examine an influential approach – the ‘four As of energy security’ (availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability) and related literature of energy security – to show it does not address these questions. We subsequently summarize recent insights which propose a different concept of energy security as ‘low vulnerability of vital energy systems’. This approach opens the road for detailed exploration of vulnerabilities as a combination of exposure to risks and resilience and of the links between vital energy systems and critical social functions. The examination of energy security framed by this concept involves several scientific disciplines and provides a useful platform for scholarly analysis and policy learning. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
energy security
in
Energy Policy
volume
75
issue
c
pages
415 - 421
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000347604500044
  • scopus:84921855062
ISSN
1873-6777
DOI
10.1016/j.enpol.2014.09.005
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
29993e46-a029-4319-b4f1-c84ae8ff8b5f (old id 4938907)
alternative location
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421514004960/pdfft?md5=d2dddb23b3fa925e99db626cd606210f&pid=1-s2.0-S0301421514004960-main.pdf
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:17:04
date last changed
2022-04-21 20:40:59
@article{29993e46-a029-4319-b4f1-c84ae8ff8b5f,
  abstract     = {{Energy security studies have expanded from their classic beginnings following the 1970s oil crises to encompass various energy sectors and increasingly diverse issues. This viewpoint contributes to the re-examination of the meaning of energy security that has accompanied this expansion. Our starting point is that energy security is an instance of security in general and thus any concept of it should address three questions: “Security for whom?”, “Security for which values?” and “Security from what threats?” We examine an influential approach – the ‘four As of energy security’ (availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability) and related literature of energy security – to show it does not address these questions. We subsequently summarize recent insights which propose a different concept of energy security as ‘low vulnerability of vital energy systems’. This approach opens the road for detailed exploration of vulnerabilities as a combination of exposure to risks and resilience and of the links between vital energy systems and critical social functions. The examination of energy security framed by this concept involves several scientific disciplines and provides a useful platform for scholarly analysis and policy learning.}},
  author       = {{Cherp, Aleh and Jewell, Jessica}},
  issn         = {{1873-6777}},
  keywords     = {{energy security}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{c}},
  pages        = {{415--421}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Energy Policy}},
  title        = {{The concept of energy security. Beyond the four As}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3277110/4938909.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.enpol.2014.09.005}},
  volume       = {{75}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}