Energy Security on a Tightrope

Abstract: This study questions how the European green transition impacts the EU’s relations to China, from a geoeconomics perspective. The basis of the study lies in the global political climate caused by the rules-based international order being challenged by China (and Russia), opposing the EU. Simultaneously, the EU sources a large percentage of the materials needed for the green transition from China. The study makes use of the EU’s own list of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) and the REPowerEU plan to identify the CRMs most connected to the green transition, looking at where they are sources, how dependent the EU is on China for supplying them, and where deposits can be found globally. Through analysing this, it is found that the EU is dependent on the CRMs to different degrees, but overall has a dependency on China to be able to realise the green transition in Europe. As such, the geoeconomics analysis conclude that the dependency on materials vital for the green transition impact the EU’s autonomy negatively, causing China to gain relative power over the EU and consequently making the EU less secure in relation to China.