How Can They (and We) Wield the Green Energy Transition for Geostrategic Power?

Speakers: Lieutenant General (Ret) Richard Nugee (Non-Executive Member for Climate Change and Sustainability, UK Ministry of Defence); and David Livingston (Senior Advisor in the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry)

Date: 15 June 2022

Speaker Session Summary

SMA hosted a speaker session with panelists Lieutenant General (Ret) Richard Nugee (Former Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy Lead, UK Ministry of Defence) and Mr. David Livingston (Senior Advisor in the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry) and moderator Dr. Nicholas Wright (Intelligent Biology; Georgetown Medical Center; University College London; New America) as part of its SMA UK MoD Strategic Advantage Speaker Series.

Western countries shifting from fossil fuels to new forms of clean energy is causing the first energy revolution in more than 100 years. Wind, solar, and hydroelectric power are the most well-known forms of clean energy; however, there are many more forms: including geothermal. The speed at which this energy change is occurring is fast; however, it must happen even faster for Western countries to achieve their environmental goals commented Lieutenant General (Retd) Nugee. However, decreasing the global reliance on fossil fuels for energy will negatively affect countries—like Nigeria and Russia-that rely on fossil fuels for a significant portion of their GDP. This change in the type of energy used will not end how countries compete over energy. Instead, competition will shift to new forms of energy, countries, and actors.

The future competition for new forms of clean energy will force the US and its allies to focus on the amount they spend resources and parts of the clean energy supply chain, commented Mr. Livingston. He also argued that the shift to clean energy is increasing the geopolitical importance of countries that are considered obsolete now, but possess minerals or resources used in clean energy technology. These countries growing importance is increasing the need for the US and Western countries to continually nurture new alliances while fortifying old partnerships. The US and its allies should also try to grow their influence over new energy sources, their manufacturing, and their distribution. Increasing their influence over these new supply chains will be pivotal as China already has massive manufacturing capacity. If the West is going to compete with China’s control of new forms of clean energy, then they must increase their own production.

Speaker Session Recording

Please email Ms. Nicole Omundson (nomundson@nsiteam.com) for access to the recording of this session.

Briefing Materials

Biographies:

Lieutenant General (Ret) Richard Nugee was appointed as Non-Executive Director for Climate Change and Sustainability in March 2021. Before this appointment he spent a year leading on the Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach at the Ministry of Defence. Prior to his work on sustainability, he spent 4 years as Chief of Defence People. His military career of 36 years includes joint, single service and international appointments. Appointed MBE in June 1998, CBE in January 2012, CVO in September 2016, and CB in January 2020, he was awarded the US Legion of Merit for his services in Afghanistan in 2014.

David Livingston is a senior advisor in the office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. Prior to joining government, Mr. Livingston previously worked at the Eurasia Group, a consultancy, focusing on energy, climate, trade and technology issues, and as a non-resident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council. He has also served as a Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as well as the inaugural Robert S. Strauss Fellow for Geoeconomics at the Office of the US Trade Representative. Earlier in his career, he worked at the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford, and is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The SMA Strategic Advantage Speaker Series description and list of the other sessions in this series can be downloaded here.