The Future of Energy Consumption, Security and Natural Gas: LNG in Baltic Sea Region

Abstract

E nergy transition is defined as a structural change in energy balance when some fuels are replaced with others. This process of structural transition, however, does not lead to an ultimate replacement of fuel but a substantial reduction of its share. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is widely considered a transition fuel that will eventually lead to a shift to the renewable energy system. LNG provides an alternative to coal, oil, nuclear energy and pipeline gas, as it helps reduce carbon emissions. However, the LNG supply chain, including liquefaction, storage, transportations via LNG tankers, and re-gasification, is associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, resulting in additional LNG emissions compared to pipeline gas. The global LNG market has witnessed exponential growth since 2000. LNG trade and export at the international level have almost tripled between 2000 and 2020. Similarly, the oversupply of LNG, improvement in energy infrastructure, flexible supply contracts, and relatively low price, determines the development of LNG in the global market. Karl Liuhto’s edited volume The Future of Energy Consumption, Security and Natural Gas: LNG in Baltic States focuses on the development of LNG market globally with an emphasis on the Baltic Sea region, and assesses the linkages between the supply security and LNG market. Comprising twelve chapters, the book analyses recent developments (post-2000) in the LNG market in countries of the Baltic Sea region. Moreover, the book discusses how LNG helped Baltic Sea countries strengthen energy security. The evolving LNG market has experienced enormous competition among major suppliers including Qatar, Australia, the US, Russia and Malaysia due to the increase of production and supply of natural gas with proliferation of LNG exports and gas pipelines. For example, the Ukrainian crisis is perceived as competition over the energy market between the US (major LNG exporter) and Russia (hegemony over gas pipeline export). The crux of this volume is that as several long-term gas pipeline contracts expire within a decade, the LNG market may continue to flourish. The book highlights the overall development of the LNG market, and the increasing share of imported LNG in the European Union (EU), which has increased from 10 to 20 per cent in two decades since 2000, although the imports are not evenly distributed. For example, countries such as Germany, Austria, Czech Strategic Analysis, 2022 Vol. 46, No. 5, 553–554, https://doi.org/10.1080/09700161.2022.2115230