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CHAPTER 16
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT: NAVIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL
DISASTER
Overview
This chapter combines and updates some of the themes on energy and the environment from
Chapters 19 and 20 in the sixth edition of the text. We hope that this chapter’s focus on the
growing interconnections between energy and the environment will be intellectually
stimulating for students. We stress the historical transformation that is occurring from fossil
fuels (oil, gas, and coal) to alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, and
hydroelectric.
The first part of the chapter provides a brief overview of some key public and private actors
involved in energy and environmental policies and some key concepts that scholars use to
explain them. Next is a discussion of some interconnections between energy and the
We next discuss some of the political and economic tensions that arose due to the ever-
tightening interdependence amongst oil producing and consuming nations over the next three
decades. As globalization accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s, environmental problems
became even more international and interconnected, generating conflicts with development,
However, with continued high oil prices before the financial crisis in 2007, major oil
producers continued to push for increased production. Natural gas production increased
dramatically along with criticism of the impact of fracking on the environment. Major debates
about peak oil and climate change reflected political ideologies. The financial crisis made
addressing environmental issues financially and socially more difficult, while also weakening
political support for a global accord on climate change global at meetings in Copenhagen,
Durban, and Doha.
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Surprisingly, in 2015 all but three countries signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change,
through which they agreed to voluntarily comply with emissions reduction targets. The effects
of climate change were clearer than ever: major ice sheets in the Arctic, Greenland, and
Key Terms
•
Paris Agreement on Climate Change
•
renewable energy
•
climate change
•
cartel
•
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
•
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Teaching Tips
• When introducing this chapter in class (as when introducing other chapters), outline the
major problems that it addresses and the main arguments in its introduction. Mention that,
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• Mention other big environmental problems, such as melting ice, the loss of rainforests, and
rising ocean levels and temperatures, and how they are connected to themes in this
chapter. Use a short video from YouTube to help make these problems come to life and
stimulate student interest.
• Instructors might begin a class session with a discussion of the impact President Trump is
having on energy and environmental issues. Many students are upset that Trump pulled
multiple-choice questions about the film on an exam. The documentary could also be the
basis of a “term paper” or other writing assignment.
• At the end of some class sessions, we occasionally have students draw a picture of a
particular concept on one side of a page of paper. Easy examples are “renewable energy
to green energies?
• Break the class up into four groups. Have each group present either the economic,
security, environmental or political implications of dependence on foreign oil.
• Have students form groups and have each group write a mini proposal for an
1. Use some of the discussion questions at the end of the chapter, especially numbers 4, 5,
and 6.
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2. Other possible questions might pertain to: OPEC; resource curses; shifting economic
supply and demand conditions for energy; the impact of these issues on different societal
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions
1) OPEC is an example of a cartel. A cartel is
a) an organization like a Japanese keiretsu made up of companies.
2) The headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is in which
city?
d) Mexico City, Mexico
3) Which of the following is an international body established in 1988 under the auspices of
the UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization and made up chiefly of climate
scientists from all over the world who assess the scientific, technical, and socio-economic
information about climate change and its future risks?
a) FAO
4) In which year did the first oil shock take place?
a) 1969
5) Iraq accused this country of cheating on its OPEC production quotas and siphoning off
oil from the neutral zone between it and this country, which led to the Persian Gulf War
in 1990.
a) Saudi Arabia
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6) Who said that dealing with the shortage of oil was “the moral equivalent of war”?
a) Ronald Reagan
7) Which statement about the 1992 “Earth Summit” in Rio is incorrect?
d) It produced another treaty—the Convention on Biological Diversity.
8) Which of the following is not one of the “mechanisms” recommended by the Kyoto
Protocol to help countries reduce their levels of greenhouse gas emissions?
a) cap-and-trade emissions trading
9) Between 2004 and 2007, global investments in renewable energy more than quadrupled,
with solar, wind, and biofuels receiving 82 percent of this money in countries such as
China, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. In which did form of energy did the United
States make the preponderance of its new investments during this period?
a) wind power
10) Which of the following statements about the Obama administration’s energy policies is
not true?
a) Obama focused primarily on market-driven supply and demand conditions for an
11) Which of the following is not an accurate statement about deniers of climate change?
a) Some of them question whether rising carbon levels are due to human causes and
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d) Some of them claim that a cabal of scientists conspires to keep critics from being
published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
12) Which of the following is not one of the reasons the Trump administration gave for
withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change?
13) Which of the following statements about energy in China is incorrect?
a) China is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world.
14) Which of the following is not a feature of China and Africa’s new energy relationship?
a) China has invested billions of dollars in Africa’s energy sector since 2010.
15) Between 2014 and 2016, which of the following countries or regions made the most new
investments in clean energy?
a) Europe
Suggested Readings and Links
Bridge, Gavin, and Philippe Le Billon. Oil. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Polity, 2017.
Dannreuther, Roland. Energy Security. Malden, MA: Polity, 2018.
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Ervine, Kate. Carbon. Malden, MA: Polity, 2018.
Henry, Claude, and Laurence Tubiana. Earth at Risk: Natural Capital and the Quest for
Sustainability. New York: Columbia University Press, 2018.
Audiovisual Resources
There are many documentaries and videos on energy and the environment. The site UPROXX
describes and shows trailers for what it claims are seven of the best environmental films,
The Island President. John Shenk, dir. AfterImage Public Media, 2011. Follows the efforts by
Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives, to bring global attention to the issue
of climate change.
Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World. Declan Healy, dir. Narrated by Iain
