Navigating Asia’s New Strategic Playbook: Resilience, Innovation, and the Green Transition
The Green Transition as a National Security Multiplier
By Judy Lin,
At the fourth annual forum of the Center for Asia Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI), held on May 8 in Taipei, global experts established a clear consensus: the traditional "grammar" of international politics and economics is being fundamentally rewritten. Central to this shift is the "energy trilemma," a complex tension between achieving equitable growth, ensuring energy security, and pursuing rapid decarbonization.
A recurring theme across the panels was that a continued reliance on fossil fuels acts as an "insecurity multiplier," exposing nations to severe economic and geostrategic risks. Elizabeth Thurbon, Professor at UNSW Sydney, posited that the green energy transition is the ultimate countermeasure, acting as a national security multiplier. By manufacturing their own energy security through renewables, countries can boost economic stability and create high-tech export industries. However, this transition is not merely a technological hurdle but a challenge of "governance innovation". The most successful nations will be those that use the energy transition to become better development partners for emerging economies, helping them leapfrog the fossil fuel era entirely.
To read the full original article, visit Commonwealth Magazine.