Geopoliticising the Energy Transition? The External Dimension of the European Green Deal

The confluence of the Covid-19 and climate crises has increased the relevance of the green energy transition, as a unique opportunity for “building back better”. While this convergence could finally foster the massive investments and international cooperation needed to effectively transition to low carbon energy systems, the Covid-19 pandemic has also accentuated global power rivalries and geostrategic concerns. In this context, even liberal-minded countries have grown warier about foreign investment in the energy sector and the dependencies created by global value chains of green technologies. Building on current debates on the “geopoliticisation” of foreign economic policies, the paper sets out a conceptual framework to assess the extent to which the energy transition is becoming geopoliticised, and its impact on international energy relations. By applying the framework to the external dimension of the European Green Deal, the paper finds clear signs of geopoliticisation, which complicate the deployment of the EU’s post-carbon energy diplomacy.