Geopolitics of Climate Change, Resource, Trade, Water Crisis & Energy

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Kjellen՚s to Contemporary Geopolitics (Climate Change, Resource, Trade, Water, Energy) | UPSC|NET

  • Nigeria, Senegal – struggling with waste
  • Hazardous economies
  • Circular economy – second hand cloth (Rwanda)

Political Geography & Geopolitics

Illustration: Political Geography & Geopolitics
  • Johan Rudolf Kjellén was a Swedish political scientist and politician who first coined the term “geopolitics.”
  • Geopolitics is traditionally the study of how political power is reinforced or undermined by geographical arrangements boundaries, coalitions, spatial networks, natural resources, etc.
  • Political geography is the study of application of power to a particular space, and geopolitics is about the interaction of the relative powers of these different spatial units.

What Are Geopolitics?

  • The connection between geopolitics and statesmanship: the “practices and representations of territorial strategies.”
  • It is a way of “seeing” the world.
  • It results from the identification of “situated knowledge,” or a nuanced understanding of “multiple practices and multiple representations of a wide variety of territories.”
  • (Critical geopolitics) is the practice of identifying the power relationships within geopolitical statements.

He first used the term “geopolitics” in 1899. First edition of his book, “The Great Powers (Stormakterna) ,” appeared in 1905 in Swedish with over 20 editions in Germany.

Traditional Geopolitics of World

  • Indigo trade from days back.
  • Opium
  • Cotton
  • Labor for plantations
  • Geography of pandemics⟋war – powerful superceded the poor malnourished.

Q. Which of the statement is not true regarding geopolitics?

(a) Geopolitics is application of power to a particular space

(b) Geopolitics is the way of seeing the world

(c) Geopolitics is based on identification of known knowledge of territories

(d) Geopolitics identifies power relations with geopolitical statements

Q. Who coined the term geopolitics?

(a) Kjellen

(b) Mackinder

(c) Spykman

(d) Mahan

Geopolitics of Climate Change

Illustration: Geopolitics of Climate Change
  • Arrhenius, Tyndall, and Fourier established link b⟋w GHG and Climate Change
  • Arrhenius established direct relation b⟋w temperature and industrial activity – CO2 increased 31% since preindustrial times and half of the increase since 1965

Some of the methods of decreasing GHG emissions include:

  • Cleaner power
  • Local actions
  • Control of gas leakages
  • Tougher emission and efficiency standards
  • Greener farming
  • New kinds of geopolitical consensus

Integrate Climate Change & Geopolitics

Rising Conflicts

  • Climate change affects food production and availability and access, quality, utilization, and stability of food systems.
  • Extreme weather-related disasters reduce the yields of major crops.
  • Higher levels of CO2 reduce the nutritional value of crops.
  • The global food system contributes about one third of greenhouse gas emissions

Severe Droughts and Floods

  • India is home to about 25% of the undernourished people in the world
  • Rising sea levels would force millions to migrate.

Solutions? ?

Illustration: Solutions? ?
  • Costs would decrease if the states find an efficient way to reduce air pollution. Cost would increase if there is less research on green technologies
  • it is easier to move quickly with a few large powers in an arrangement of “miniliteralism” than to try to achieve universal agreement in multilateralism
  • challenged to build new energy systems that are not dependent on fossil fuels.
  • Climate modification could be weaponized creating security threats for states (landlocked nations, nations with lack of resources)
  • The destruction of Southeast Asian ecosystems because of the American war efforts in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos raised concerns about the use of environmental modification as a weapon. This led to the International Environmental Modification Convention in 1977 banning the use of environmental modification as a weapon of war.
Illustration: Solutions? ?
Illustration: Solutions? ?
  • Cap & trade – carbon trading.
  • Electricity (seller) > cement (buyer) – shifting to fly ash

Q.International Environmental Modification Convention was aimed at:

(a) banning use of environmental modification as a weapon of war

(b) promoting clean development mechanism

(c) enhancing forest cover and green cover

(d) using greener solutions to reduce the pace of climate change

Q. Who established a direct relation between temperature and industrial activity?

(a) Tyndall

(b) Fourier

(c) Arrhenius

(d) All of the above

Geopolitics of Resources

Illustration: Geopolitics of Resources
  • As the resources at disposal increases the economic strength of the state increases.
  • Why need to control resources – disparity, higher demand, new markets, resource depletion, fragile relations, and control international trade
  • South China Sea Dispute – construct artificial islands over Spartly Islands
  • String of Pearls in Indian Ocean Region
  • Chinese control over Africa; Natural Gas reserve and Russia; Teesta River Dispute.

Geopolitics of Oil

Illustration: Geopolitics of Oil
  • 80% of the world՚s proven oil reserves are in just eight countries, seven of which are described by The U. S. Energy Information Administration as either ‘failed’ , ‘high-risk’ , or ‘potentially high-risk’ states. Oil accounts for half of energy and 70% investment
  • It can be substituted for any other fuel

Geopolitics of Renewable Energy

Illustration: Geopolitics of Renewable Energy
  • Enabling diversification of energy sources.
  • Gaining energy independence and energy security with less dependence on foreign oil.
  • Non-energy companies are investing in major renewable energy projects across the globe, such as Google՚s investment in the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in Kenya

Geopolitics of Rare Earth Minerals

Illustration: Geopolitics of Rare Earth Minerals
  • Solar photovoltaic cells - tellurium, tin, indium, hafnium, gallium
  • Solar technology - silver, cadmium, selenium
  • Magnets in Wind turbines - dysprosium neodymium
  • Wind technology - nickel and molybdenum
  • China does 97% of global production for these rare earth minerals
  • Japan solely dependent on China for advanced electronic equipment՚s

Q. Which two powers account for 25% of total oil production?

(a) Russia & USA

(b) Russia & Saudi Arabia

(c) Saudi Arabia & USA

(d) USA & Iran

Q. Which rare earth mineral is not used in renewable wind energy?

(a) nickel

(b) dysprosium

(c) cadmium

(d) molybdenum

Geopolitics of Water Crisis

Over 20% of the world՚s population lacks access to safe drinking water and 40% has no access to basic sanitation. A third of the world՚s population lives in water stressed nations.

Reasons for poor access to water include:

  • Commodification and capitalist overproduction guarantee large profits at the cost of water scarcity. Privatization of water in the UK has led to massive profits for water companies benefitting world՚s financial markets.

International Treaties

Illustration: International Treaties

Globally more than 150 agreements have been signed for water issues. The first such treaty was made in 2500 BC, when the two Sumerian city states of Lagash and Umma crafted an agreement that ended water dispute along the Tigris River.

Following are the most important current mechanisms:

Q. Why is Shivanth River an important case study of Geopolitics of water crisis?

(a) private acquisition for residential establishments

(b) private acquisition for industrial complex

(c) demand for building dykes

(d) government declaration of region as dry

Manishika