Energy Security and Energy Transition: Towards Sustainable Energy Systems

Dear Colleagues,

The global energy landscape is undergoing a profound transformation driven by the urgent need to address climate change, enhance energy security, and achieve sustainable development goals. This Special Issue seeks to explore the intersection of energy security and the transition to sustainable energy systems. It aims to advance our understanding, propose innovative solutions, and identify strategies that promote energy security while facilitating the transition towards sustainable energy systems. Papers submitted to this Special Issue should address topics related to energy security and energy transition within the context of sustainable energy systems. Potential areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: analysis of energy security strategies; studies on the integration of renewable energy sources into existing energy systems; exploration of initiatives to improve energy access; research on energy efficiency measures and their role in enhancing energy security and sustainability; examination of innovative technologies, such as smart grids, energy storage, and others; analysis of policy frameworks, regulatory mechanisms, and governance structures facilitating the transition to sustainable energy systems while ensuring energy security; investigations into the nexus between energy security, energy transition, and climate change mitigation efforts; case studies, empirical research, and best practice examples highlighting successful approaches to balancing energy security and sustainability objectives.

Prof. Dr. Ričardas Krikštolaitis
Dr. Linas Martišauskas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• energy security
• energy transition
• sustainable energy
• energy planning
• energy system modeling

Title: Geopolitics of energy infrastructure corridor development in Africa
Authors: Chigozie Nweke-Eze
Affiliation: Institute of Geography, University of Bonn, Germany
Abstract: The large-scale expansion of energy infrastructure and infrastructure corridors is profoundly reshaping the geographies of Africa, generating lock-in patterns of development for future generations. These Infrastructure corridors have the potential to offer development gains but also open extensive areas of land to new environmental pressures and are not without social-economic challenges. This paper explores and reviews the geopolitics of energy infrastructure corridors and their implications for development in Africa. On the one hand, development corridors are considered as “dreamscapes of modernity” and critical elements for promoting transformational change, sustainable development, and synergistic climate change mitigation and adaptation. On the other, infrastructure corridors can lead to significant biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation, pollution, spread invasive species, increase illegal logging, poaching and fires, severely affect river deltas and coastal and marine ecosystems, and consume large volumes of greenhouse gas intensive products such as steel and cement. Beyond environmental impacts, infrastructure corridors can widen inequalities between stakeholders who are not party to the planning process but affected by it, lead to transformations in local livelihoods, increase adjacent communities’ exposure to natural hazards, leave an unsustainable burden of debt, and are often fraught with anxieties of social contestation. With the promises of the Belt and Road Initiative and the European Union’s Global Gateway, such investments are likely to increase. Understanding the dynamics and impacts of these massive investments can allow development opportunities to be maximised and therefore be critical for attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and African Union’s Agenda 2063 aims.