An Elusive Synergy: The Quest for Cooperation on Energy Security between China and the European Union JEREMY GARLICK In 2012, China and the European Union (EU) issued a joint declaration on energy security. It is unclear, however, what progress has been made since then in terms of applying the goals of the declaration. This paper sets out to assess the present state of China and the EU’ s energy security, the potential for future cooperation, and the obstacles which stand in the way. The analysis assesses the extent to which the two actors can work together on improving energy infrastructure, diversifying supplies, and developing renewable and nuclear energy, possibly by finding synergies between China’ s Belt and Road initiative and the EU’ s Juncker Plan. It also includes a re- examination of the concept of energy security to take account of the urgency of addressing the collapse of the global environment. Overall, the analysis suggests that although due to geographical and other constraints there may be limited opportunity for cooperation between the EU and China on securing oil and gas supplies, there is both scope and a pressing need for joint action in the field of renewable energy. KEYWORDS: China–EU energy security; Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); Juncker Plan; fossil fuels; renewable energy; nuclear energy. * * * It is no accident that Daniel Yergin entitled his 2011 book about the search for energy security The Quest. It is not coincidental that the word “quest” was also used by Erica Downs in the title of her book China’ s Quest for Energy JEREMY GARLICK is an Assistant Professor in the Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies, Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic. His research focuses on a wide range of areas relating to China’ s international relations. He previously lectured at universities in Beijing and Seoul. He can be reached at <jeremy.garlick@vse.cz>. Issues & Studies: A Social Science Quarterly on China, Taiwan, and East Asian Affairs Vol. 53, No. 3 (September 2017) 1750005 (27 pages) © Issues & Studies and World Scientific Publishing Company DOI: 10.1142/S1013251117500059 September 2017 1750005-1 InS Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com by UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO on 01/29/18. For personal use only.