Jean-Marie Chevalier / Fabienne Salaun

Energy remains one of the key drivers of the modern global economy. Economic growth has to be fed continuously with oil, natural gas and electricity. Any physical disruption of energy flows or major price spikes may affect seriously economic activity, locally or globally.

Energy has a direct economic cost but energy consumption generates also social surplus and social costs for the whole community. All costs have to be taken into account in order to ensure an appropriate balance between demand and supply within a perspective of sustainable development. Oil and gas markets, electricity markets do not integrate all these elements and, therefore, market mechanisms have to be complemented by appropriate forms of regulation.

The energy problem has been for long an energy supply problem. It is now complicated by the growth in energy consumption which could endanger the sustainable development of the planet. In addition, balance between supply and demand is permanently threatened by the geopolitics of energy. The high concentration of hydrocarbon resources within a few turbulent areas, the political instability of these areas, the permanent threats of terrorism attacks make highly strategic the energy question.