The Roadmap for Moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050 states that the objective of the European Union policy for Energy and Climate is to reduce its CO2 emissions to 80 % below 1990 levels. First, the article explains that decarbonisation within this framework does not only mean a transition towards renewable energy, but also changes in the use of ‘clean’ fossil fuels, in type and location. Secondly, it shows that the investment, infrastructures and treaties proposed to carry out this transformation will lead to the creation of bigger monopolies, and to the regionalization of the European energy space. Finally, we conclude by saying that if measures to offset the power of the monopolies are not applied, the outcome of these reforms will be the creation of energy baronies.
Aurèlia Mañé EstradaHaving started out as an economist and later specialised in International Relations, she is now a Professor of International Economic Policy and International Energy Relations at the UB. In addition, she has also been an Associate Professor at the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (USA). As a result of her work in the field of Transitions and the History of Energy, she is an Honorary Research Fellow for the School of History at the University of East Anglia (UK).
