Zanna Anderson
Science and Environment Editor
Wooster welcomed the final keynote speech of the Great Decisions of Wayne County Lecture Series — a joint venture between Wayne County and the College to bring experts on current foreign policy issues to the campus to educate the general public on issues. This year’s theme was “energy transition and global geopolitics,” and events included a film screening and three keynote speakers.
A teeming Gault Recital Hall fell into silence on the evening of April 10 as Brian Webb, director of sustainability at the College, stepped onto the stage. He thanked sponsors of the Great Decisions of Wayne County Lecture Series before shifting the audience’s focus to Jed Howrey ’25, who introduced the night’s keynote speaker, Daniel Scholten — visiting assistant professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
Scholten began his presentation — “The Geopolitics of the Energy Transition” — by using the Oxford English Dictionary to define geopolitics as “politics, especially international relations, as influenced by geographical factors.”
“Energy geopolitics is synonymous with oil and gas security,” he said, noting that — because there are two types of states in our current energy regime, states that have oil and states that need oil — oil trade defines relationships of power between states.
Scholten continued to explain that renewable energy could be distributed equally around the world, noting that some form of renewable energy exists “somewhere, all the time.” Renewables, Scholten explained, including wind, solar and geothermal energy, can be monopolized, but some states have a greater ability to use renewable energy due to their natural resources. Scholten then discussed the geopolitical implications of new methods of production of electricity through renewables.
According to Scholten, states can build new facilities to convert renewable resources into electricity — this will benefit states with existing deposits of raw resources for construction. Many of these states are in the process of industrialization, so — per Scholten — increasing the use of renewable energy will give them more power on the global stage. Scholten also discussed non-renewable energy forms that pose a concern to the future of renewables, including oil.
Scholten then spoke on renewable methods of energy generation, which he said tend to be decentralized — power plants are unnecessary when electricity is generated at the source. Renewable sources of energy are also more “widespread and diverse, and abundantly available” than non-renewables, Scholten argued. As a result, he said that the energy regime will shift away from the international stage and towards the national level. Scholten also encouraged individuals to think about their personal uses of renewable resources.
“Every day you have to make all kinds of decisions and [determine your priorities] … whether this is for a worker, for families, for [your] health, where if you [are a] politician with global politics, and the climate [interests are prioritized] … second,” Scholten said. “It’s very different for us humans also to realize — [that they prioritize] short term thinking [over] or long term prospects.”
Before opening up the floor for questions, Scholten proposed questions to the audience: “Will the energy transition pacify global (energy) relations or will great power rivalry weaponize it?,” “How [can states] facilitate a smooth global energy transition?” and “how [can states] balance national energy security and industrial interests with collective interests in stability and climate change abatement?”
After the lecture, refreshments were provided in the lobby of Scheide Music Center. Wooster students, faculty and staff mingled among themselves and met with Scholten to discuss their own questions, comments and concerns.