Task 1. Read the text carefully looking up any new item in a dictionary or in the glossary to the text.

UNIT VII

ENERGY SECURITY

TEXT FOCUS

Common Concept of International Energy Security

The meaning of energy security has expanded over time. Deviating gradually from the origin of the words that only suggested stable energy flow, the “fair” price element was added in the 1970s and 1980s. Recently, environmental and social aspects are increasingly linked to energy security.

Strictly speaking, even the “fair” price notion could already be beyond what the origin of the words might suggest. One could argue for including this notion because an “unfair price” could undermine physical availability in the short term (e.g., non-affordability due to high price) or long term (e.g., underinvestment due to weak price). However, environmental and social sustainability are not considered under the concept of energy security, at least not in the major policy papers.

Those who take a climate-inclusive approach to energy security would argue that global warming should be included because it could create catastrophic consequences on not only energy supply, but also on international security perspectives through, for instance, mass migration of refugees. … As argued above, energy security and global warming prevention tools like supply expansion of fossil fuels, energy subsidies, or uncoordinated renewable development could contradict each other. Thus, it seems reasonable to consider that climate change cannot be fully of energy security. This is not to downgrade the importance of tackling climate change. On the contrary, it is indeed important and that is why the environmental aspect is a separate pillar of energy policy.

For the sake of a clear concept of energy security, however, it is consistent that climate change and other environmental aspects are treated as risk factors to energy security instead of uncomfortably attempting to internalise them.

Energy povertyis another serious problem. It should be examined whether an energy poverty problem is a result of domestic or international energy supplies, and whether it is about access to modern energy (thus, new energy flows) or the improvement of supply stability and/or affordability of an existing energy flow. If it is entirely about creating a new domestic energy flow, energy poverty could be better addressed under another pillar of energy policy or even within a social welfare system because energy security concepts usually assume existing energy flows. In the case of an existing domestic energy flow, it could be addressed as a domestic energy security issue, not an international one.

Should an energy poverty case involve energy imports, then one could relate it to international energy security. Even so, however, it is still arguably in the scope of supply security because stable and affordable energy flows might solve, or at least alleviate, energy poverty.

Meanwhile, the social welfare aspect remains because one could assume energy subsidies would be provided to make expensive imported energy affordable to people. Therefore, although energy poverty has some linkage to energy security, it seems to be an ancillary aspect of the energy security concept rather than the core. Policy wise, it is probably better dealt with under another pillar of energy policy or even under general social welfare, and that is indeed the case in many countries.

GLOSSARY

ü fossil fuel – природное/ ископаемое/ органические топливо

ü fossil fuel reserves - запасы ископаемого топлива

ü energy sources/ sources of energy — источники энергии

ü noncarbon energy sources - неуглеродные источники энергии

ü alternative energy sources – альтернативные источники энергии

ü renewable energy - возобновляемый источник энергии

ü renewable energy technology - технология использования возобновляемых источников энергии

ü solar energy — солнечная энергия

ü hydrocarbon resources - ресурсы углеводородов

ü energy market - рынок энергоресурсов

ü energy poverty – энергетическая бедность/нищета

ü energy supplies – энергоресурсы, энергоносители

ü supply security – надежность энергоснабжения

ü primary energy consumption - потребление энергии от первичных источников;

ü energy supply - поставка энергоресурсов

ü energy demand - энергетические потребности

ü crude oil - сырая нефть

ü oil/petroleum product – нефтепродукт

ü natural gas - природный газ

ü electric power - электроэнергия

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Task 1. Skim the text again and find all possible word combinations with the following words:

IEF

IEA

OPEC

ECC

ECT

IAEA

GECF

EEC

ASEAN

APEC

SCO

EurAsEC

Targets for 2030

a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels

at least a 27% share of renewable energy consumption

at least 27% energy savings compared with the business-as-usual scenario

Policies for 2030

To meet the targets, the European Commission has proposed:

· A reformed EU emissions trading scheme (ETS)

· New indicators for the competitiveness and security of the energy system, such as price differences with major trading partners, diversification of supply, and interconnection capacity between EU countries

· First ideas on a new governance system based on national plans for competitive, secure, and sustainable energy. These plans will follow a common EU approach. They will ensure stronger investor certainty, greater transparency, enhanced policy coherence and improved coordination across the EU.

GRAMMAR FOCUS

SPEECH FOCUS

Model

Negotiation is act or process of conferring or discussing to reach agreement in matters of business or state.

Task 2.

In the course of negotiation misunderstandings may occur due to the interpreter’s mistakes resulting from the confusion of false friends (words of different languages which look or sound alike but are not semantic equivalents). Look up the following false friends in an English-Russian and Russian-English dictionary and write their equivalents in the table.

English	Russian	Russian	English
Affect Agitate Barracks Basin Baton Cabinet Civil Concurrent Cravat Decade Delicate Data Herb Hymn Obligation Original Principal Protection Race Rent Resident Retire Revision Speculate Transparent Wagon		Аффект Агитировать Бараки Бассейн Батон Кабинет Цивилизованный Конкурент Кровать Декада Деликатный Дата Герб Гимн Облигация Оригинал Принципиальный Протекция Раса Рента Резидент Ретироваться Ревизия Спекулировать Транспарант Вагон

Background

After a break of more than three months, and intensive efforts by the EU, trilateral gas talks between Ukraine, Russia and the EU were resumed on 26 September. At a meeting in Berlin, the EU’s energy commissioner Günther Oettinger proposed a temporary solution to the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute, the adoption of which would enable a stable supply of natural gas during the winter to both Ukraine and the EU. The fundamental differences between the parties led to the failure of the gas negotiations in June, which resulted in the suspension on 16 June of Gazprom’s gas supplies to Ukraine. The new EC proposal is unspecific on many points (such as the method of calculating the Ukrainian debt to Gazprom; the bases of the new supply, including the price formula; and the ‘take or pay’ clause) and will require further difficult negotiations.

Kyiv, whose energy situation is becoming increasingly difficult, is willing to enter into a temporary compromise, but under the condition that the final size of its debt is not prejudged, and that during this period a constant gas price no higher than US$385 per 1000 m³ is guaranteed. Russia’s position shows that its efforts are continuing to force Ukraine into accepting temporary solution which favours Russian interests; that would mean a de facto continuation of the existing mechanisms for gas cooperation.

CASE FOCUS

Watch the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK0BkKHAZ8Y and answer the following questions:

1) When did Europe realize its dependency on gas imports?

2) Why is energy dependency viewed as a major risk?

3) What should Europe do to eliminate this risk?

4) How can internal EU energy market be created?

5) What will it help to achieve?

6) What else does energy diversification depend on?

7) What projects help to achieve energy diversification in Europe?

8) What helps to achieve less reliance on external supplies?

9) What side effect does modernization of networks have?

10) Do you think that these measures are effective?

11) “South Stream” was said to enhance the European energy security. It was considered to be a key project within the strategy on diversifying the routes of gas supplies to the EU. Why did Russia cancel the project?

PROJECT FOCUS

UNIT VII

ENERGY SECURITY

TEXT FOCUS

Task 1. Read the text carefully looking up any new item in a dictionary or in the glossary to the text.