Energy Security

Energy security is commonly defined by the International Energy Agency (IEA) as "the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price." It has both a short-term dimension—the ability of an energy system to react promptly to sudden changes in the supply-demand balance—and a long-term dimension, which concerns timely investments to supply energy in line with economic development and environmental needs.

The concept rose to prominence after the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, which prompted industrialized importers to create the IEA in 1974 under the OECD framework. Member states agreed to hold strategic petroleum stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports and to coordinate releases during disruptions.

Contemporary energy security debates extend well beyond oil. Key dimensions include:

• Supply diversity: reducing dependence on any single supplier, route, or fuel.
• Infrastructure resilience: protecting pipelines, LNG terminals, grids, and increasingly subsea cables from physical and cyber attack.
• Affordability: shielding consumers and industry from price shocks.
• Transition risk: managing decarbonization without compromising reliability, including securing critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, rare earths) needed for clean energy.

Recent flashpoints have reshaped the field. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine cut pipeline gas flows to the EU, triggering the REPowerEU plan to phase out Russian fossil fuels, accelerate renewables, and diversify LNG imports. The September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage highlighted infrastructure vulnerability. Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping from late 2023 disrupted tanker traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, and concerns persist over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of global seaborne oil transits.

For MUN delegates, energy security typically arises in committees such as UNGA Second Committee, ECOSOC, IAEA, and regional bodies, often intersecting with climate policy (UNFCCC), trade, and sanctions regimes.