The Crucial Global Issue of Energy and Political Power
Posted: 18.04.2007
The significance of Russia and Iran
The synergy between energy and national security is going to be a crucial political consideration in generations to come according to Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Dr Liam Fox MP, today (Tuesday, 18 April 2007).
Dr Fox was speaking to members of the Global Economic Forum of the Cambridge University Land Society, chaired by Douglas Blausten, senior partner of property consultants and chartered surveyors Cyril Leonard.
The subject of his talk was "Funding the threat, a fresh perspective on energy security and national defence."
"We cannot divide the issues of energy security and national security," said Dr Fox.
He added that the shaping of defence needs to be looked at as a matter of some urgency, what he described as the "politics of fuel and power".
Dr Fox said that when the Conservative Party came to power it could be at a time when there was a joint deterioration in the country's fiscal position and the security position.
"Energy security needs to be a Directorate in the government," he stated.
There were, he said, direct and indirect potential threats to energy security, and gave two examples:
- Russia was willing to use the power of its energy supplies as a political tool, and
- Iran was also prepared to use energy as a potential threat. According to Dr Fox, for every $1 increase on the price of a barrel of oil $1 billion goes into the coffers of Russia and Iran who then spend it on their military build-up.
Bit by bit, he pointed out, Russia was "buying into the security of Europe", adding that in his view the potential for instability in Russia was "quite high".
"We have to get to grips with a new reality in the world,? said Dr Fox, adding that ?the security environment is deteriorating."
Diplomatic engagement was very important. It is time, he stressed, to "get some impetus into this."
Dr Fox told the CULS audience: "This is a debate that needs to be had, one we should lead. It will be with us during coming generations. We have to look at security as a wider concept, not from such a narrow viewpoint, and across a number of fields."
There was also a downside to globalisation which required that three very important elements needed to be considered:
1) the diversity of fuels.
2) the spread the risk regarding where imports came from.
3) the ability to invest in security of transport.
|
|
Dr Yoon-Je Cho, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (left) attended the Global Economic Forum of the Cambridge University Land Society meeting where the guest speaker was Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Dr Liam Fox (centre).
"Funding the threat - a fresh perspective on energy security and national defence." The Forum meeting was chaired by Mr Douglas Blausten, senior partner of property consultants and chartered surveyors Cyril Leonard (right).
|
)
)