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In 2022, the countries united by the concept of "the West" imposed unprecedented energy sanctions on Russia, thereby reacting to Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine launched in February. This article presents a comprehensive study aimed at identifying the essential motives of the "collective West's" energy policy. The first part of the paper gives an utilitarian vision of the problem in question. The author comes to the conclusion that, despite the U.S. shale revolution and the development of renewable energy sources, Western states, taken together, continue to depend heavily on oil and gas imports and, therefore, they are mostly driven in their energy policy by the need to neutralize the critical importance of hydrocarbons with a view to avoiding political and economic ramifications. The paper, in its second part, considers the Western energy policy at the tactical level where it can be either defensive or offensive as well as at the strategic level where the united West seeks mostly to effect energy transition. The article demonstrates that, from the perspective of international relations theory, the West's energy policy in its tactical and strategic dimensions fits most into the realist concept. Basic liberal imperatives define it as a relatively feeble one whereas constructivism is not able to identify its objective patterns. Additional theoretical footholds in understanding the West's motives in the field of energy supply are provided by the concepts of liberal interventionism and neoconservatism as well as by neo­Marxism. The latter sees the energy policy of the West through the prism of the struggle of states forming the "center", "periphery" and "semi­periphery" of the world.

This paper presents the energy policy of the Republic of Cyprus government controlled areas from 1960 till 2006. It describes the sectors of electricity, petroleum, natural gas and renewable energy sources. It also deals with the marine layers of oil and with environmental aspects. The energy policy of Cyprus is harmonized with that of the European Union according to its national obligations, having as its guidelines to secure competition in the market and to fulfill the energy needs of the country, with the least burden to the economy and to the environment. The future plans and targets of Cyprus related to its energy strategy are also presented. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Australia's reliance on cheap coal for electricity generation, with no allowance for emissions in its pricing, puts this nation with the United States at the head of carbon dioxide emitters per head of population. On a global scale, however, its overall emissions are less than two percent of the world's total. This latter fact has been the driver for the Federal Government's policy on emissions reduction together with the belief that a carbon price will seriously endanger the economy. These views are discussed in relation to the refusal to sign the Kyoto protocol, the continuation of the most devastating drought for a century, and the options available to curb emissions that are discussed at length in this special issue. The just issued Stern report adds credence to the necessity for legislative action on carbon pricing and the arguments presented here, but has not yet produced any change in existing policies.

Australia's reliance on cheap coal for electricity generation, with no allowance for emissions in its pricing, puts this nation with the United States at the head of carbon dioxide emitters per head of population. On a global scale, however, its overall emissions are less than two percent of the world's total. This latter fact has been the driver for the Federal Government's policy on emissions reduction together with the belief that a carbon price will seriously endanger the economy. These views are discussed in relation to the refusal to sign the Kyoto protocol, the continuation of the most devastating drought for a century, and the options available to curb emissions that are discussed at length in this special issue. The just issued Stern report adds credence to the necessity for legislative action on carbon pricing and the arguments presented here, but has not yet produced any change in existing policies.

This paper analyzes choices concerning the increase of energy efficiency made by the Swiss energy policy elite; it is based on interviews with 240 of its members. It starts from the assumption that choices depend on characteristics of the actors involved (their membership in policy coalitions, their core beliefs etc.), the characteristics of the instruments (in particular their familiarity and the extent to which they impose constraints upon the coalitions involved) and of the policy context (policy equilibrium vs. rapid change). Depending on these characteristics, actors are expected to make choices which are to a greater or lesser degree value-rational or instrumentally rational. The results of the present analysis indicate that, rather than being exclusive alternatives, the two types of rationality often complement each other in choices among policy instruments. We hope that they provide a promising opening in the often rather sterile debate between advocates of the rational choice approach and practitioners of more classical approaches of policy analysis.

The article analyses the specific features of energy policy-making, by exploring the relevant dimensions of the matters and the interdependence between energy policy and other sectors. A recognition of the evolution of energy policy -- and of the policy change which occurred in recent years -- is provided, as a starting point for applying the tools of policy studies to the analysis of energy policy-making. Two different types are then identified: the external policy-making concerning security matters; and the internal policy-making concerning organizational and market-related issues. It will be seen that each type of policy-making is characterized by a particular policy sub-system with its own actors, instruments, arenas and dynamics. Adapted from the source document.

Motivation of the energy policy of the European Union towards Russia is driven by two factors. The first is the dependence of the EU on obtaining most of its energy supplies from Russia. The second factor consists of two fears (one spurious and another hypothetical) that Russia won't deliver necessary volumes of energy to the European domestic energy market. Strange enough, these fears co-exist with the EU repeatedly confirming the fact of Russia compliance with its commitments of energy supply to the EU member states.

Since 1973 US energy policy has been essentially foreign policy. In the first year, the oil embargo was seen primarily as a diplomatic threat. By fall 1974, it was apparent that higher oil prices would persist, making energy an economic issue. By fall 1975, energy had become a matter of global insititutional crisis in the relations between rich & poor nations. Under the Carter administration, energy was treated as a matter of global resource shortage requiring international cooperation. It is not clear, however, that the foreign policy considerations involved in all these phases are actually a sufficient basis for consensus on energy policy. W. H. Stoddard.