Research Report
A Study on Global Normative Trends and Legal Improvements for the Establishment of Energy Security
Ⅰ. Necessity and Purpose of Research
▶Necessity of research
○Acceleration of the movement of international society to response to the crisis in energy supply chain
-The movement of international community to prepare for uncertainty in the supply and demand of energy is accelerating as the supply chain crisis spread around the world due to Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022
- Energy is a key component of national security but energy security is under threat as resource producers began to weaponize resources that ban exports on the grounds of their own security
- Not only international organizations such as the European Union(EU) and the International Energy Agency(IEA), but also individual countries are also working on policy responses and improvement of relevant legislation to secure energy security
○The trend of expansion of energy security concepts in accordance with changes in energy policy
- Generally approaches energy security only as a matter of stockpiling resources by defining energy security as ensuring that energy supply is not interrupted at a reasonable price
- Energy security is also changing into a concept that must be considered throughout the energy system in connection with the changing direction of energy policy
○The necessity of preparing for the changed environment related to energy resources and uncertainty of supply and demand
- Despite Korea's high dependence on energy imports, supply and demand of energy is expected to be difficult due to the changed policy environment called carbon neutrality in the future
- However, there are no laws governing the overall energy security system and there is a limit to establishing a preemptive and systematic energy security system because individual laws in the energy sector are responding by securing a supply stability of energy
▶Purpose of research
○Derive implications for improving domestic legislation by analyzing the legal trends of international organizations and major countries on energy security
○Derive legislation improvement measures to establish energy security through the review of domestic legislation
Ⅱ. Major Contents
▶The concept of energy security
○General concept of energy security
- The concept of energy security emerged in the international community after two oil shock crises in the 1970s, and energy security also focused on securing supply stability, such as discontinuing the supply of energy or preventing shortages
- Energy security is conceptually based on availability, which generally means a sufficient amount of energy supply, and affordability, which means the supply of these resources at an appropriate price
○Extended concept of energy security
- Energy security is a variable concept that can change according to the changes in the situation and policy conditions of each country, and various definitions are possible because it is inextricably linked to energy policy
- A view has emerged to understand energy security as an expanded concept that includes various factors as accessibility, reliability, and environmental sustainability in addition to availability and price adequacy
○Reestablishment of the concept of energy security
- In regards to a policy approach to energy security, major countries, including Korea, are rather approaching from the perspective of energy mix as development of resources to break away from fossil fuels and expansion of renewable energy
- Energy security can be considered as realizing optimized energy mix according to energy-related policies and environmental changes
▶Trends of international discussions for establishing energy security
○Trends of Energy Security Policy in the EU
- To make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels before 2030, the EU has announced a REPowerEU plan to reduce imports of Russian gas
-Energy security discussed in the EU is basically focused on addressing the high dependence of Europe on Russian fossil fuels
- To secure energy security, the EU is not simply approaching it as a matter of a ,mere reserve of energy, but from various angles, such as diversifying energy supply chains, expanding renewable energy, and reducing energy consumption
○Trend of energy security policy and legislation of Germany
- Energy transition through the expansion of renewable energy is accelerating to secure energy sovereignty despite a growing sense of crisis over energy security
- They are strengthening the stockpiling of natural gas storage facilities used for power generation for the stable supply of fossil fuels needed in the transition period of energy conversion
- To reduce natural gas consumption of the electricity sector in the event of an energy crisis, they are considering complementary operation of using coal-fired power plants as standby power
- The Energy Security Act 1975 strengthens measures to prevent energy supply-related crises and management through two revisions in 2022
○Trend of energy security policy and legislation of Japan
- Energy security and decarbonization through the expansion of the proportion of renewable energy are being realized by identifying the problem of securing energy elasticity and climate crisis as one
- The establishment of the Economic Security Promotion Act provides the basis for securing the stable provision of specific infrastructure services
- Through the enactment of the Economic Security Promotion Act, the basis for securing a stable supply of specific important commodities such as minerals and natural gas and securing a stable supply of specific social infrastructure services as energy supply is being prepared
▶Problems with current legislation on energy security
○A passive approach to the concept of energy security
- Since the occurrence of an energy crisis is unpredictable, preparations for it must be made from a short-term and mid- to long-term perspective
- Although preparation for an energy crisis from a mid- to long-term perspective should be consistent with the direction of the energy policy of carbon neutrality, the current concept of energy security has limitations in approaching only quantitatively for existing fossil fuels without considering this
○The absence of a comprehensive response system due to the legal system centered on individual laws
- A disconnected approach to regulating energy security through individual laws centered on energy sources makes it difficult to effectively respond to uncertainties in the rapidly changing energy market
○Insufficient preventive and management measures for energy crisis
- The current energy security-related laws are mainly focused on follow-up measures such as execution of various powers of command to stabilize the supply and demand of energy, and there is a limit to not considering various measures for prevention
▶Improvement of legislation for establishing energy security
○Reestablishment of the status of energy security through the enactment of the Framework Act on Energy
- Currently, there is no basic law covering the entire energy sector
- It is necessary to reestablish the status of energy security through the enactment of the Framework Act on Energy in that the establishment of consistent policy can only be realized by considering the direction of energy policy
○Establishment of an integrated legislative basis for establishing energy security
- In the event of an energy crisis, it is necessary to enact an integrated law for the efficient and systematic establishment of energy security, away from the disconnected and post-response method based on individual laws
Ⅲ. Expected Effects
▶Prepare measures to improve domestic energy security-related laws based on the trends of discussions in the international community
○Energy security is being addressed from a policy perspective by setting the direction of resource storage in the short term and expansion of renewable energy considering carbon neutrality in the long term
○Trends in international discussion on energy crises can be used as basic data for the development of domestic energy security-related legislation