Diversity and Political Stability of Rare Earth Supply for Renewable Energy in the Context of Energy Security
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2022-08-26
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en
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As climate mitigation measures encourage the transition to a new clean energy system, the importance of renewable energy in future EU development initiatives increases. It creates additional concerns regarding the security of the renewable energy supply because it may result in a greater reliance on essential minerals. This thesis examines the impact of diversity and political stability on the security of renewable energy supply, focusing on rare earth supply in 26 EU countries. Analyzing the relationship between the deployment of renewable energy and the diversity of rare earth suppliers and the political stability of rare earth sources using the fixed-effects two-stage least squares (FE2SLS) approach, the result shows that more diverse sources of rare earth supply boost the deployment of renewable energy and that greater political stability facilitates the deployment of renewable energy. Diversifying the sources of rare earths can strengthen the influence of political stability. In conclusion, renewable energy must complement fossil fuels as the alternate energy source in order to meet the ever-increasing energy demand. However, the renewable energy supply could undergo a sudden breakdown due to supply concentration and political instability. It suggests that future policies should be more careful in their promotion of renewable energy capacity. More attention should be paid to the shortage of rare earths, which might cause a breakdown in renewable energy supply.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen