University of Chicago Professional Education: Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition

Building off the introductory seminar which discussed the overall political and technological context of the energy transition, this seminar will focus on the geopolitical variables of the transition and the shifting topographical landscape of economic, political and social power. We’ll discuss how hydrocarbon powers – corporate and nation-state – are responding to the prospect of diminishing market share for their products, while exploring how countries and regions can prosper economically and enhance their geopolitical standing through an accelerated adoption of renewable energy technologies. We’ll also review how the essential nature of renewable energy technological systems exacerbate the issue of global supply chains for everything from critical minerals needed for solar, wind and storage technologies to the distribution and access to the renewable energy technologies themselves, and how the question of supply-chain security affects domestic and foreign policy formulations for countries across the globe.