Energy & climate

Turkey – located between big energy producers and the EU market – is crucial for Europe’s energy security. However, plans for the Nabucco pipeline as an alternative to Russian gas supplies are in trouble.

By 2020, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Chinese economy could overtake the US to become the largest in the world, at least when measured using purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates. India is expected to grow rapidly to become the third biggest economy. Alongside these Asian giants, a series of smaller powers – such as Iran and Russia – will increasingly be able to exploit their nuclear weapons and energy to increase their say in world affairs.Mark Leonard was director of foreign policy at the CER (2005-2007).

The single biggest challenge facing the world may be to decouple economic growth from growth in emissions of greenhouse gases.

We Europeans are proud pioneers in combating climate change. But what we do at home is almost irrelevant unless we persuade and help China and India to limit emissions.

The EU, like the rest of the world, faces no greater threat than climate change. There are two – equally bleak – scenarios for Europe if greenhouse gas emissions are not cut quickly and substantially.

For almost 50 years, Europe's priority has been to achieve peace and prosperity by strengthening the ties between its nations. The last 20 years in particular have seen Europe focused on the internal challenges of German reunification, enlargement and the establishment of the single currency.

Russia is the EU's biggest neighbour. The EU is Russia's most important trading partner and source of foreign investment. Yet EU-Russia relations have often suffered from discord over contentious issues such as trade quotas, rules on visas, the Kaliningrad enclave or human rights in Chechnya. So it is all the...