2. Energy security
Energy security is at the core of energy policy. It is an integral part of any sound and consistent energy policy to ensure secure and reliable energy supplies at fair and stable prices over the short and long term.

Concern about energy security in UNECE countries have over the years received varying attention. Concerns were uppermost in the minds of energy policy makers during the 1970s and early 1980s when energy supply and demand was tightly balanced and energy markets were rocked by two sharp oil price rises.

Likewise, concerns about the increasing reliance on OPEC and Middle East oil were heightened during the Iraq-Kuwait crisis of 1991 and the recent military conflict in Iraq.

Anxieties have re-emerged; energy security is once again high on the agenda of policy makers and the general public. The renewed attention to energy security in the EU and many other countries has reopened the debate on a number of important and thorny energy policy issues.

No doubt, energy security will influence decisions regarding the future role of coal and nuclear power in meeting future energy needs, the subsidization of indigenous energy production, the provision of incentives for the exploration and development of fossil fuels, the introduction of measures to improve the commercialisation of renewable energy resources and the implementation of measures to protect the environment.

Three core objectives currently underpin energy policy in most UNECE countries. These are enhancement of energy security, the promotion of economic efficiency, and the protection of the environment. In addition, there are many other societal objectives that governments have to take into consideration in policy making. These cannot all be dealt with and achieved simultaneously. In the short and medium term, there are usually inherent and inescapable trade-offs, involving competing policy goals and policy means.

There is also an increased apprehension around security of gas supply matters triggered by concerns over:
•The growing dependence in Western and Central Europe on imported natural gas due to increasing demand and declining indigenous production; some countries are becoming net importers for the first time;
The higher costs of new incremental gas supplies triggered by more complex field developments and longer supply routes;
•The uncertainty about the full implications of gas and electricity market liberalisation and its eventual impact on energy security;
•Security risks and the danger of terrorist attacks on energy installations such as nuclear power plants and oil and gas pipelines;
•The potential for social unrest and ethnic strife in a number of energy producing and transit countries with a negative impact on supply continuity.

It is also important to recognize that strengthening international relations and economic cooperation among all countries and industries involved will be helpful in maintaining and enhancing energy security. While security of natural gas is a multifaceted concept and not easy to define, there are three dimensions of particular relevance: