The current abundance of cheap energy rests on the burning of concentrated fossil fuels. As these become scarce, managing reduction in energy use and investing in renewables can bring greater energy security and environmental benefits.
Transport networks which deliver global trade and cheap travel are built upon the ready availability of oil. However, we know that fossil fuels are finite. Although we are some way from exhausting our global stock of oil, we may already have passed the point where global production flows have peaked.
As supply constraints lead to rising fuel prices, and transport costs rise, the physical globalisation of trade and travel we take for granted will become more expensive, and is likely to be brought into question.
Depletion of oil reserves is not in itself a problem, and can even bring some environmental benefits. Managing a reduction in fossil fuel use to avoid disruption as oil supplies dwindle would also help mitigate climate change.
The key is the management of reduction – resource depletion will present problems only if we are not prepared for it. As oil’s availability declines, we will have to redesign many aspects of our society. In a world of depleting oil reserves, we must ask what our energy needs are, and how we will meet them.
It is possible to meet our energy needs by utilising renewable technologies
We see this as an opportunity to embrace the principles of relocalisation, enhancing our community life and rediscovering a connection with our sense of place. The challenge is one of education and of planning – educating our societies about limited fossil fuel resources and the timeline in which they will become scarce, and planning a reduction in fossil fuel use to shift the means by which we generate power. Because it is possible to meet our energy needs by utilising renewable technologies, we can overcome this resource constraint.