Energy & Politics: Clash of the Titans!

Energy’s main issue thus far is its intricate interference with politics and its dependency on the political will more than on the constructive determination to build a brighter future. The main aspect of geopolitics lately is the prevalence of oil produced energy rather than a shift towards renewable energy which market is mainly monopolized by Asian players. The reluctance of the US and its key partners in allowing the emerging economies to benefit from the promising energy market is politically driven, in sense that the willingness to preserve the lead for the major superpowers financially and in the field of technology is a key component of the economic and foreign policy of any nation provided the critical impact of these domains on the national interests of the state.

One should not pursue the delusional dream of idealistic change, nor should one believe in the purity of human kindness as there is only one factor which shape world decisions as we witness them today: economic determinism. No matter how concerned we are about nature or alarmed are states about natural resources depletion, the only currency which will buy a certain change environmentally is economic interest. Thus it is a time of political hypocrisy and world despotism we have to deal with, abiding by its laws and pursuing its working mechanisms. What ought to be done then? Playing with the devil in his playground is the way to defeat him. What the environmentalists and grass root activists need to realize is the necessity to engage in the financial and political arena in order to gain influence and power necessary to facilitate the emergence of noticeable changes.

My greatest ambition is to build an extensive network of organizations driven by a spirit of social entrepreneurship, with heavy investments in the business world and with consequent influence in the political field. We need to become efficient instead of remaining stuck in the unfruitful culture of protests and public noise. No one will ever listen to kids, and kids we are as of now in most of the world, shouting for the adoption of renewable energy while we are plainly ignorant of the financial and political constraints of such an energetic adventure.

Letting China exploit the market of alternative energies while the US is still pulled back by its oil dependency is an unforeseeable suicide the US as well as the world won’t allow due to political and economic weight of the western power. Since governments, according to this simple logic, cannot grant the environmentalists their long dreamed-of energetic vision, there is no choice but to change governments’ policies and politicians by either substituting them with the bright young activists who can secure a considerable portion of voting bases, or by extensively lobbying the decision makers and pressuring them through the conventional tools every activist ought to be trained upon.

 Mohamed Amine Belarbi