150017 VU Governing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in East Asia: China, Japan and South Korea (2016S)

Content

This class will introduce the Water-Energy-Food Nexus as an alternative paradigm in the study of energy security. This paradigm recognizes the interconnectedness of these three issues and emphasizes the socio-policital, economical, ecological and environmental impacts of several energy projects and sources. Although the WEF-nexus is adequately considered and developed in academia, the various national governments and their policy-making bodies only rudimentary incorporate the nexus in its policy agendas.

These aspects become particularly prominent with respect to the energy-laden economies of East Asia: China, Japan and South Korea. These countries have been and remain engaged in a wide array of domestic and international energy projects. Among those, the Chinese Three Gorges Dam is certainly one of the most illustrative. Being the largest hydropower plant in the world and one of the largest constructions ever built, its consequences on the energy, water and food security are severe. A similar case can be made for Japan who is actively diversifying its energy portfolio, investing in all kinds of fossil fuels and renewables. One interesting example is biofuels, which is widely perceived as one key technology to improve the country’s energy security. However, to transform different forms of biofuels (i.e. biomass and lingo-cellulosic) into energy requires similarly large quantities of water. Water is also important to cool-down the turbine of coal-fired power plants or the fuel rods in nuclear power plants. The latter provides one-third of South Koreas energy supply and the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant is the third largest nuclear reactor in the world (the fourth largest is also located in South Korea). Often such plants are constructed either close to the ocean or a river. These rivers, due to the increasing overall temperature and longevity of hot periods, occasionally fail to function as a cooling device for the plants, as the temperature of the river is just getting to warm.

Beside an investigation into these concrete cases, the course will focus on the assessment of the governance structure in these countries, identifying the central actors

Aims
In this class, students will gain a deeper insight and redefined understanding of the WEF-nexus in order to be more sensible towards issues of energy security. This understanding includes a multidimensional perspective, which is closely linked to aspects of water and food security, and the socio-political and environmental problems that several energy projects contain. In this context, the students will acquire a general knowledge of the WEF-nexus, its central content and discontent, and the related governance structure in three major East Asian countries. In addition to this, the practical applicability of the WEF-nexus in the analysis of three energy-related issues will strengthen the students understanding of the matter, as well as their ability to apply the content learned in class.

Method
The course is text-based and will take place on three days (bloc course). In preparation for each single session students are required to read one related bock chapter, article or report with an approximate length of 20-30 pages. Please see below the mandatory readings for Day 1.

In general, the course is structured along three pillars: Introduction to the topic, analysis of the related governing structure, and the implications on significant energy projects in East Asia. This structure shall provide the students with the necessary knowledge to analyze the three country cases and the empirical examples.