running out. In the same period, total reserves and output in OECD member
countries significantly increased, but the increase mainly came from North
America; for example, the natural gas reserves in the USA and Canada increased by
13 % in 2011. Energy consumption demand in main European countries has
declined since 2008 due to the economic crisis, while the total energy consumption
in emerging countries, including China, India, etc. has rapidly grown since 2008. In
2011, the increase in China’s energy demand accounted for 71 % of the increase in
global total energy demand.
This shows that the pattern of world energy is characterized by the following
aspect: all of the reserves, output and consumption are relatively concentrated in
certain areas and among certain groups of countries. In 2011, 78 % of the oil
reserves and 49 % of the natural gas reserves in the world were distributed in OPEC
member countries; regionally, 88 % of the oil reserves in Latin America were
available in Venezuela; 92 % of the oil reserves in Eurasia were distributed in
Russia and Kazakhstan; 77 % of the oil reserves in Western Europe were dis-
tributed in Norway and the UK; 66 % of the oil reserves in Africa were distributed
in Libya and Nigeria; the distribution of the natural gas reserves was similar; 96 %
of the natural gas reserves in Eurasia were distributed in Russia and Turkmenistan;
81 % of the natural gas reserves in Western Europe were distributed in Norway and
the Netherlands; 66 % of the natural gas reserves in Africa were distributed in
Algeria and Nigeria. From the perspective of consumption, in 2011, 52 % of the
global daily oil consumption came from OECD member countries and 69 % of the
annual global natural gas imports was from OECD member countries.
The relative concentration of the world’s energy reserves, output and con-
sumption determines that the structure of world energy governance presents a
relative concentration, namely multilateral energy agencies made up of the main
energy-consuming countries, and that the energy-producing countries exert an
important role within the international energy market.
8.2 The Global Energy Governance System
Global energy governance means the mechanism under which collective actions are
taken to strike a basic balance between supply and demand on the global energy
market. Currently, regional multilateral energy organizations which really work
include the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), etc.,
while UN-Energy and the International Energy Forum (IEF) are“virtual”agencies
and it is very difficult for them to exert any decisive influence on today’s inter-
national energy market. Some regional multilateral treaty organizations and bilat-
eral treaties also play their roles in global energy governance, including the Energy
Charter Treaty, the Europe-Africa Energy Community Treaty, etc.
8 The Global Energy Governance Structure... 157