Human Security and Energy Security: A Sustainable Energy System as a Public Good

Abstract

This chapter is dedicated to the concept of human security, its link to energy and energy governance, particularly global energy governance and through this focus emerges the need to look at the links between the concept of public goods and energy. Our starting argument is that conventional notions of energy security that are centred on the nation state are insufficient to ensure human security at an individual level (across the globe). Rather, what we refer to as ‘deep energy security’ is a necessary condition for human security and such security in turn requires a sustainable energy system. We further argue that one approach to strengthen deep energy security is to use the lens of the public goods concept to consider how aspects of a sustainable energy system should be provided.

The chapter is structured as follows. We start by exploring the evolution of the concept of human security and its major components and then analyse the various ways through which energy is linked to this concept. We look at the links between energy and human well-being and security and between energy and human ill-being and insecurity. We then explore the contrast between the concept of human security and the conventional way in which energy security has been framed, contrasting the individual with the collective perspective. We then argue that conventional energy security is not sufficient to deliver human security and propose the notion of deep energy security as a more comprehensive and appropriate concept. This concept is closely linked to the sustainability of energy systems, particularly the global energy system. In the following section we turn our attention to how deep energy security could be provided, with a first step in approaching the sustainability of energy systems as public goods at all levels, particularly the global level. This requires an elaboration of the definition and theory of public goods and how they need to be provided. Acknowledging the need for a multilevel and multilayered provision approach for this public good we examine in more detail what and how much of this good should be provided through global energy governance and then we briefly explore the current practice of global energy governance before drawing some conclusions.

Keywords: human security, energy security, global public goods, subsidiarity