This thesis examines the relationship between energy, development and human security in Sino-Myanmar relations. Rapid economic growth and increased urbanisation have intensified China’s industrial and domestic energy consumption, drastically increasing demand and overwhelming national supply capacities. Chinese foreign policy has responded by becoming more active in securing and protecting foreign energy resources and allowing Chinese companies more freedom and opportunities for investment abroad. Consequently, Chinese foreign investment and policies have become increasing sources of scrutiny and debate, typically focusing on their (presumed) intentions and the social, economic, environmental and political impacts they have on the rest of the world. Within this debate, a key issue has been China’s engagement with so-called pariah states. China has frequently received substantial international criticism for its unconditional engagement with such countries, often seen as a geopolitical pursuit of strategic national (energy) interests, unconcerned with international opprobrium. In the case of Myanmar, traditional security analyses interpret this as, at best, undermining (Western) international norms and, at worst, posing a direct challenge to international security. However, traditional security analyses rely on state-centric concepts of security, and tend to over-simply Sino-Myanmar relations and the dynamics which inform it. Conversely, implications for human security are overlooked; this is in part because human security remains poorly defined and also because there are questions regarding its utility. However, human security is a critical tool in delineating between state, corporate and ‘civilian’ interests, and how these cleavages shape the security environment and potential for instability in the region. iv This thesis takes a closer look at some of the entrenched and changing security dynamics shaping this Sino-Myanmar energy cooperation, drawing on an extensive literature in human security rarely applied in this context. This includes a brief review of human security and Sino-Myanmar relations, and is grounded in an empirical analysis of Chinese investment in Myanmar’s hydropower and oil and gas sectors. Ultimately, this thesis argues that, while insightful, many traditional interpretations of Sino-Myanmar energy cooperation overlook the security interests of those worst affected. Furthermore, that the worst excesses of Chinese companies in Myanmar are not unique to China, but common across all investors in the regime, Western or otherwise. / Graduate

Reissued 13 Mar 2013 to rearrange reference list and change distribution code from F to A. / Energy and maritime-history affairs have played particularly important parts in the alignment of regional and international relations in the Eastern Mediterranean, and Turkey has played a pivotal regional role in all these matters. This study examines the role of Turkey as it explores the Middle East more generally, from World War II to the present day, asking how dynamic strategic alliances and regional relations in the Eastern Mediterranean have been regulated in terms of energy and maritime-security issues. The thesis has five chapters: Chapter II discusses the geographic, political, military, and especially economic importance of the region. Chapter III provides a historical review of energy and maritime-related crises and case studies that occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean and their effect on the alignments of strategic alliances. Chapter IV presents the current situation in the Eastern Mediterranean in terms of energy and maritime security and examines Turkey`s increasing strategic role in the region. This chapter provides information about the importance of Eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbon resources, the geopolitical importance of Turkey as an energy hub, probable energy problems in default of delimitation of the maritime area, strategic-alliance problems and the militarization of energy security. Chapter V summarizes the main analyses and presents the importance of the current geostrategic alignment of alliances in terms of energy and maritime security, and Turkey’s key role in the settlement of disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean.

There is need for increased production of electricity from renewable energy technologies. The transition to a low-carbon economy, whilst achieving energy security and meeting the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) is an ongoing challenge for many countries. Local communities instituting an energy co-operative model may be instrumental to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to attain the 2030 goal. Renewable energy co-operatives (RECs) are one approach that can contribute to environmentally and socially equitable energy transitions in order to meet the SDG7. This thesis examines the factors that affect the success of RECs within Ontario to better discern how RECs are set up and how government policy affects their development. The main research question of this study is “How can Ontario’s renewable energy co-ops grow, experience long-term viability, be updated or expanded?” This thesis argues that the quest towards energy transition, a low-carbon economy and to achieve both the federal and provincial targets by 2030 should take on a multi-stakeholders approach. In theory, this should reflect community desires, goals and energy equity since a community should have its own supported role in energy generation towards the whole of Ontario. With the absence of provincial support from the removal of the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program in 2017, it is now imperative that municipal governments become involved in REC developments within their community. The methodological approach of this thesis uses a combination of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) and sustainability analyses in order to interpret the data collected from semi-structured interviews with co-ops and policymakers as well as their websites and reports. This study examines the support structures and barriers for the growth of RECs in Ontario and how their growth can contribute to the SDG7. Through document review and interviews with representatives from the co-ops, I discovered that barriers include unstable government policy, inadequate funding, and a lack of support from financial institutions due to the smaller size of the projects developed by power co-ops. Comparisons with REC policy and progress in European countries show Ontario can do more to support RECs. This thesis concludes that one of the many available options for Ontario to contribute substantially to the transition to a low-carbon-economy is through applying the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change and the SDG7 by supporting citizen-led initiatives like RECs and to encourage large financial institutions to invest in their communities.

In order to increase energy security and meet carbon emission reduction targets set by the EU and UK government, the UK energy sector has increased its reliance on renewable energy. The marine renewable sector is set to become a major contributor to the UK's energy portfolio but incumbent on the offshore renewable sector are the high development, operation and maintenance costs. Prevailing metocean conditions at an offshore energy site contribute significantly to the life-cycle costs of an offshore energy project. Where access to a site is limited by a lack of suitable weather-windows, leading to high instances of downtime, weather-induced costs increase. Determination of suitable metocean weather-windows, defined by maximum operating thresholds and the length of time required to perform a task can assist with the risk management of a project and the reduction of downtimes, thus reducing costs. Metocean weather-windows are determined using 31 years (the “climatological norm”) of ECMWF ERA-40 reanalysis data. The annual, seasonal and monthly distribution parameters for wind and wave regimes at three sites are derived, using three different distribution parameter estimation models. Probabilities of defined weather-windows are determined using the derived distribution parameters and compared with empirical probabilities, based on the frequentist approach. Wind regimes fit a Weibull distribution and wave regimes fit a 3P gamma distribution and unique annual, seasonal and monthly distribution parameters are required for accurate weather-window determination. When fitted to appropriate PDFs, the shape and scale values determined by the different estimation techniques result in significantly different probabilities. Empirical probabilities converge with those determined using the MLE model but both significantly differ from those derived using the LSM and MoM derived parameters. In the absence of a dataset spanning the climatological norm, this suggests that the MLE method of parameter estimation is more accurate for the successful determination of weather-windows.

This paper analyse how two agreements can be understood to facilitate the normative power (NP) of the EU by illuminating how they can enable four different NP mechanisms and thus influence and shape Ukraine’s notions and norms concerning energy security (ES). The study it draws on information from two agreements, i.e. Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Energy Partnership of 2016 (MoU) and the treaty establishing the Energy Community (TEC). If we understand NP as the ability to define what passes for normal and that NP suggests that the EU exerts influence by shaping the values and behaviour of other actors by redefining international norms in their own image. Then these two agreements are interesting as they constitute a nexus between the EU and Ukraine which could potentially enable that power as they can proliferate norms and notions of the EU concerning ES. Considering how the TEC has the goal to extend their principle and rule of the EU and how the MoU is created with the EU´s energy union as reference point the agreements might enable that influence This paper combines critical discourse analysis (CDA) with an ideal type analysis where the four NP mechanism constitute the analytical tool. The study reveals how the agreements can enable the EU´s NP by facilitating the NP mechanism, as they manage to proliferate the norms and notion of the EU. However, the aptitude of the different NP mechanism differ between the two agreements. Additionally, the study also reveals how the application of this ideal type is more suitable for examining organisation rather than agreements alone, as the full spectrum of the NP mechanisms potential cannot be illuminated. Although, the study reveal how agreements could be understood as potential tools, even if they don’t enable all NP mechanism equally.

Submitted by Elesbão Santiago Neto (neto10uepb@cche.uepb.edu.br) on 2018-04-06T19:15:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Fabiana Martins Santos.pdf: 37209586 bytes, checksum: 6e2259d9a1316654691019a581ddd6b9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-06T19:15:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Fabiana Martins Santos.pdf: 37209586 bytes, checksum: 6e2259d9a1316654691019a581ddd6b9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-10 / CAPES / This study aims to clarify weather the Brazilian and Chinese energy policies respectively influence the energy security of both countries. In this perspective the research was divided in four sections: in the first section the concepts of politics and energy security were presented. The concepts used in this study were developed from the historic and theoretical data available in the literature through the analysis of security theories drawn from Barry Buzan studies. Sections two and three focus on the internal and external energy policies implemented in Brazil and in the People`s Republic of China (PRC). Both countries went through scarce electricity while facing great demand of this resource for their development in the first years of the 21st century. In the fourth section a comparison of these policies is presented aiming to comprehend if they influence the conception of security of these countries. The research was conducted using the mixed approach, through a qualitative and quantitative analysis. In addition to that, the comparative method was used to elaborate the discussion presented. The data showed that the internal and external politics used in Brazil and in the China are part of the energy security of the countries, both through the improvement of the energy sector and the increase in the access of the energy sources. / O presente trabalho objetiva esclarecer em que medida as políticas energéticas elaboradas pelo Brasil e pela República Popular da China influenciam na segurança dos seus setores energéticos. Para tanto, a pesquisa divide-se em quatro seções: na primeira foi realizada a conceituação de política e segurança energética utilizando-se do aparato histórico e teórico, por meio da análise das teorias de segurança da perspectiva de Barry Buzan, para compreender a formação de tais conceitos. Em seguida, nas seções dois e três, foram apresentadas as políticas energéticas, interna e externa, implantadas no Brasil e na RPC, após vivenciarem uma escassez de energia elétrica nos primeiros anos do século XXI e em virtude da crescente demanda. Na quarta e última seção, realizou-se a comparação dessas políticas no sentido de compreender se elas influenciam na concepção de segurança desses países. Para tal fim, a metodologia adotada norteia-se no enfoque misto, isto é, utilizando-se da análise qualitativa e quantitativa, além de aplicar o método comparativo para o embasamento da pesquisa. Deste modo, conclui-se que as políticas internas e externas do Brasil e China, utilizadas para o aperfeiçoamento do setor e maior acesso as fontes de energia, atuam na formação da segurança energética em ambos os países.

The thesis deals with the issue of energy security in the European Union, and the role played by Azerbaijan in the provision of the EU's energy independence and long-term stability. The author investigates the current issues of the European Union's energy policy, and the main threats impairing the EU's energy independence. Countries of the Caspian Basin, and particularly Azerbaijan, are investigated as the main alternative suppliers of energy resources for the European Union to increase its energy security. The author justifies and forecasts the future development of the EU-Azerbaijani relations in the energy sector taking into account the current policies implemented by the European Union in the field of energy security.

This thesis deals with the energy policy of the Russian Federation and its role within the Russian foreign policy towards the countries of the former Soviet Union. It focuses in particular on the Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom. The thesis inquires into Gazprom's relation to the Russian foreign policy and examines how and to what extent Russia uses Gazprom as a tool for enforcement of its political interests. It also analyses the implications of the Gazprom's acitivities in the postsoviet countries for the energy security of the European union.

The thesis is concerned with connections between energy security of PRC and it's foreign policy. It presents measures China has adopted to secure stable inflow of energy secources (mainly oil) and implications these measures have on the foreign policy.

Present energy situation of the European Union is becoming to be more problematic. At the time when worldwide reserves of primary energy sources -- oil and natural gas -- continue to decrease, most of the EU member states are getting dependent on the imports of energy from foreign sources. One of the main impulses to discussion about new Energy policy of the EU in terms of security of energy supplies was a natural gas crisis between Russia and the Ukraine from January 2009. Russia represents one of the main energy partner of the EU -- it imports majority of oil and natural gas to the european countries. However, energy dependency rate of some of the central and eastern european states on imports of energy sources from Russia arouses concerns. The solution for the European Union proposes diversification of the suppliers aimed to increase energy independence on Russia. Also alternative energy sources or rebirth of nuclear energy can lead to the one-way dependence of the EU on imports of fossil fuels from Russia.