The New Map
Yergin, D. (2020). The New Map: Energy, Elimate, and the Clash of Nations. First Edition. New York, Penguin Press.
One of the richest books for understanding geopolitics from the lens of energy security and innovation. Daniel Yergin, a respected name in energy and foreign policy, presents a historical narrative of the changing energy map until 2020.
Yergin’s writing style - similar to Marc Carney - is interdisciplinary in nature, considering the topics, and simple in delivery. This helps draw a more detailed picture of the development of energy policy through the lenses of technology, history, and geopolitics across four regions and looking into the future. The book explores the ever-changing energy map by starting with the shale revolution which field the global recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, but also severed American dependency on energy imports and changed its relationship with the rest of the world. The book also discusses Russia’s pivot to the east, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and the Middle East’s reliance on oil. Most interestingly, he discusses the dynamics between private and national oil producers in the US and Europe, and its relationship on energy markets.
Indeed, Yergin is no climate denier. He argues that the struggle over oil and gas leads to further development and innovation in green and sustainable energy. Yet, he argues that change will be gradual and eventual, and is skeptical about the delivery of ambitious promises, especially with the current state of the energy map.
Favourite quote: “In the autumn of 2018, though it was hardly noted at the time, something historic occurred: The United States overtook both Russia and Saudi Arabia to regain its rank as the world’s largest oil producer, a position it had lost more than four decades earlier.”