The growing importance of renewable energy has major implications for natural resources. Investors need to understand the complex ramifications of the changing demand for resources and how commodity price shocks work through economies and markets.
Chapter 8 of Geo-Economics: The Interplay between Geopolitics, Economics, and Investments focuses on an emerging form of resource competition. As renewable energy is becoming an increasingly important part of our energy supply, access to the minerals used in batteries and solar cells, as well as the technology to build modern renewable energy applications, is becoming vital. The shift to renewable energy might also have some destabilizing economic effects on countries that rely heavily on the export of crude oil and other fossil fuels, triggering new geo-economic developments. How both oil exporters and oil importers can prepare for the rise of renewable energy and benefit from its opportunities is the focus of this chapter.