Quarterly Journal of West Asian Studies
(Faṣlnāmah-i Gharb-i Asiyā)

Quarterly Journal of West Asian Studies (Faṣlnāmah-i Gharb-i Asiyā)

Explaining the impact of renewable energies on geopolitical competition in the 21st century

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of Political Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 PhD Student at Department of Political Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The rapid development of the global economy has led to an increase in the consumption of fossil fuels, and the exploitation of these resources is accelerating, while in contrast, the growing demand and availability of these resources are declining, and with the current consumption trend, humanity is facing the real problem of the depletion of the reserves of these non-renewable resources.The rapid decline of fossil fuels and the growing concern about the depletion of their reserves have led the world to a critical juncture in the energy transition, and renewable energies have emerged as an alternative solution.Accordingly, the central question of the present research is: what will be the situation of the vast energy needs of human societies with the end of the current fossil energy resources? The aim of the research is to examine the new energy resources, especially solar and wind energy, and their role in energy transition and the probability of formation of new geopolitical competitions that shift the subject of geopolitical competitions in the field of energy from fossil fuels to renewable energies. The nature and purpose of the research is applied and problem-oriented, based on documentary resources, and the data analysis method is based on the deductive and inferential method.The findings of this study show:the geographical areas with solar radiation and windy regions of the world, which mainly correspond to the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, such as West Asia, North Africa, the African Sahara, the western parts of China, the arid regions of India, desert regions in Africa and South America, as well as the windy regions of Antarctica and other similar regions, will emerge as new geostrategic and geoeconomic regions in the near future and, for this reason, will become the arena of geopolitical competition, especially by the great global powers.
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  • Receive Date 30 May 2025
  • Revise Date 12 June 2025
  • Accept Date 07 July 2025
  • First Publish Date 07 July 2025
  • Publish Date 22 September 2024