The Energy Trilemma in the Baltic Sea Region: Security, Equity and Sustainability in an Age of Transition
From the 20th October to 21st October 2022, the first workshop on the Energy Trilemma in the Baltic Sea Region took place at the University of Greifswald under the leadership of the Energy Cluster of the IFZO - Interdisciplinary Research Centre Baltic Sea Region. Together with colleagues with expertise in Baltic Sea Region research, we discussed the existence and handling of the energy trilemma and the sub-areas of energy equite, energy security, and environmental sustainability as it manifests in the Baltic Sea Region in the Baltic Sea Region. There was a particular focus on the trilemma in the context of two energy “transformations”: that prompted by the energy transition and the move to more sustainable forms of energy, and that caused by current developments of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Based on presentations by the participants on individual aspects of the energy trilemma as well as individual country analyses, we analysed the concept of the trilemma, its sub-dimensions of equity, sustainability and, in particular, the increasingly important security, as well as the different perception and use of these concepts in the countries of the Baltic Sea region. The presentations ranged from comparisons of the energy crisis and Corona pandemic to analyses of energy security with a view to NordStream and the different perceptions of the states concerned, and from the historical significance of nuclear energy for the Baltic Sea Region to the changing role of nuclear energy in Finland and Poland. Emphasing the broad and interdisiplinary remit of the event, participants also addressed the role of renewable energy in Norway from the perspective of participation and energy justice, the role and participation of women in the energy transition, the importance of energy cultures and transdisciplinary approaches, and as the connection between market-oriented and normative equity approaches. Finally, the role of nuclear energy in the Polish energy transition and the significance of the energy trilemma as a narrative in Latvia. These presentations, discussions and other contributions will be subject of a joint publication by the participating researchers.
In addition to the discussions on the content and the joint publication, the main outcome of the workshop was the acknowledgement and agreement that the study of the energy trilemma in the Baltic Sea region requires further in-depth analyses. From a combination of existing networks and those newly established at the workshop, a working group is now being formed that will be explicitly dedicated to the analysis of the energy trilemma in the Baltic Sea region. A follow-up event is planned for as early as next year.