Energy superpower

An '''energy superpower''' is a country that supplies large amounts of energy resources (crude oil, natural gas, coal, etc.) to a significant number of other countries - and therefore has the potential to influence world markets for political or economic gains. Energy superpower status might be exercised, for example, by significantly influencing the price on global markets or by withholding supplies. The term "energy superpower" or "renewable energy superpower" is also used to characterize nations at the forefront of energy transition and the development of renewable energy resources (solar, wind, hydro) and technologies.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jericho |first=Greg |date=19 Oct 2023 |title=Australia is already an energy superpower. We should be using that to drive the world towards renewables |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2023/oct/19/australia-is-already-an-energy-superpower-we-should-be-using-that-to-drive-the-world-towards-renewables}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Araya |first=Daniel |date=November 27, 2018 |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative is poised to transform the clean energy industry |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-is-poised-to-transform-the-clean-energy-industry/ |website=The Brookings Institution}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Butler |first=Nick |date=September 21, 2014 |title=China: the world's energy superpower |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/dba2be86-57c5-3fd7-aef9-8b98b4f7dbc5}}</ref>

The term "energy superpower" lacks a precise scholarly definition and is primarily a political term. It is not a concept rooted in rigorous academic or scientific categorization but rather a label used in political discourse to describe countries that wield significant influence in the global energy landscape. This term is subject to interpretation;and can be applied differently by individuals and organizations - depending on their specific agenda or perspectives. As a result, the meaning and applicability of the term "energy superpower" may vary.

As of 2024, the United States is the world's leading producer of total energy, leading producer of petroleum, leading producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and leading exporter of LNG.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Curtis |date=January 3, 2024 |title=US was top LNG exporter in 2023 as hit record levels |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-was-top-lng-exporter-2023-hit-record-levels-2024-01-02/ |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Gaurav |title=As 2024 Approaches U.S. Leads Global Crude Oil Production |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gauravsharma/2023/12/19/as-2024-approaches-us-leads-global-crude-oil-production-roster/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

Russia is widely recognized as an energy superpower.<ref name="gem"> {{cite news |date=2006-09-15 |title='Russia Won't Act Like an Energy Superpower': Making Promises that Can't Be Kept |work=Global Events Magazine |url=http://www.geostrategymap.com/Gold/g_Putin_Hollow_Promise_2.html |url-status=unfit |access-date=2012-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828060948/http://geostrategymap.com/Gold/g_Putin_Hollow_Promise_2.html |archive-date=2008-08-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2017/11/future-of-russia-as-energy-superpower-thane-gustafson.html |title=The Future of Russia as an Energy Superpower |work=Harvard University Press |date=20 November 2017 |access-date=22 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="regnum"> {{cite news | url= http://en.civilg8.ru/2054.php | title= How Russia's energy superpower status can bring supersecurity and superstability. Interview with Leonid Grigoriev | publisher = Civil G8 | year = 2006 | access-date=2012-02-05 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current sourcesare too old|date=December 2025}}Other nations that have, at different points in time, earned this designation include Saudi Arabia,<ref name="undp"> {{cite web |url=http://arabstates.undp.org/subpage.php?spid=31&sscid=142 |title=Saudi Arabia's first step towards clean energy technologies |publisher=UNDP |access-date=2012-02-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528085109/http://arabstates.undp.org/subpage.php?spid=31&sscid=142 |archive-date=2012-05-28 }}</ref> Canada,<ref name="talwani">[http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4476.htm Canada: The next oil superpower?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206154800/http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4476.htm|date=2007-02-06}}, by Manik Talwani. The New York Times 2003</ref> Venezuela,<ref name="talwani" /> and Iran.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CA1Cn8tDMv4C&pg=PA50 | title= Energy and the Iranian economy: hearing | agency = United States Congress | date = 2006-07-25 | publisher= DIANE | isbn= 9781422320945 | access-date=2014-06-11}} </ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Global Energy Geopolitics and Iran |journal=Uluslararası İlişkiler |author=Balamir Coşkun, Bezen |volume=5 |issue=20 |pages=179–201 |date=Winter 2009 |publisher=International Relations Council of Turkey |url=http://www.uidergisi.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Global-Energy-Geopolitics-and-Iran.pdf |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401102351/http://www.uidergisi.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Global-Energy-Geopolitics-and-Iran.pdf |archive-date=April 1, 2014 }}</ref>

== Countries referred to as energy superpowers == {{See also|Petrostate|Resource curse|Oil reserves}}

=== Russia === thumb|right|Countries dependent on Russian natural gas for domestic consumption (2006) The discourses surrounding Russia's energy wealth play a crucial role in Vladimir Putin's attempts to restore Russia's great power status. Some scholars have noted that, although Putin may avoid explicitly using the term "superpower," the idea of Russia as an energy superpower is an integral part of the ideology developed by his regime.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Kuteleva |first=Anna |date=2020 |title=Discursive Politics of Energy in EU–Russia Relations: Russia as an "Energy Superpower" and a "Raw-Material Appendage" |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2018.1520601 |journal=Problems of Post-Communism |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=78–92|doi=10.1080/10758216.2018.1520601 |s2cid=158115925 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baev |first=Pavel |date=2007 |title=Russia Aspires to the Status of 'Energy Superpower' |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09700160701415735 |journal=Strategic Analysis |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=447–465|doi=10.1080/09700160701415735 |s2cid=154245608 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bouzarovski |first1=Stefan |last2=Bassin |first2=Mark |date=2011 |title=Energy and Identity: Imagining Russia as a Hydrocarbon Superpower |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00045608.2011.567942 |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume=101 |issue=4 |pages=783–794|doi=10.1080/00045608.2011.567942 |bibcode=2011AAAG..101..783B |s2cid=143061534 }}</ref> This idea emphasizes Russia's significant role in the global energy landscape and frames it as a key player in international politics. However, Russia's status of an energy superpower and the strategic implications it carries have been called into question by many experts. As Vladimir Milov, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says:

<blockquote>The "energy superpower" concept is an illusion with no basis in reality. Perhaps most dangerously, it doesn’t recognize the mutual dependence between Russia and energy consumers. Because of political conflicts and declining production, future supply disruptions to Europe are likely. As a result, European gas companies may likely someday demand elimination of the take-or-pay conditions in their Russian contracts. This would threaten Gazprom’s ability to borrow. Putin’s attempt to use energy to increase Russian influence could backfire in the long run.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/events/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail&id=860 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109204647/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/events/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail&id=860 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 9, 2007 |title=How Sustainable is Russia's Future as an Energy Superpower? |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=2012-02-07}}</ref></blockquote>Vladimir Mau, Aleksei Kudrin, German Gref, and many other Russian economists compare Russia's dependence on energy exports with a severe drug addiction and even use the “sitting on the oil needle” metaphor to describe Russia's economic development in the 2000s and the 2010s.<ref name=":0" />

=== Canada === In the mid-2010s, former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, asserted that Canada should be considered an energy superpower. By advertising Canada as an oil supplier on the international level, Harper defined it as a “reliable producer in a volatile unpredictable world” who can offer its oil-thirsty partners “a transparent regulatory system and a commitment to open markets”.<ref>Harper, Stephen. ''Address by the Prime Minister at the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce''. London, UK, 2006, July 14.</ref> This viewpoint found support among conservative political activists and public intellectuals, such as Ezra Levant, the author of ''Ethical Oil'' (2011). However, scholars,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kuteleva |first1=Anna |last2=Leifso |first2=Justin |date=2020 |title=Contested crude: Multiscalar identities, conflicting discourses, and narratives of oil production in Canada |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101672 |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |volume=70 |article-number=101672 |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2020.101672|bibcode=2020ERSS...7001672K |s2cid=224926983 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adkin |first=Laurie |title=Crossroads in Alberta: climate capitalism or ecological democracy |journal=Socialist Studies/Études Socialistes |date=2017 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=2–31|doi=10.18740/S4BP7H |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Laxer |first=Gordon |title=After the Sands: Energy and Ecological Security for Canadians |publisher=D&M Publishers |year=2015 |isbn=9781771621007 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spiegel |first=Samuel J. |date=2021 |title=Fossil fuel violence and visual practices on Indigenous land: Watching, witnessing and resisting settler-colonial injustices |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |volume=79|article-number=102189 |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2021.102189 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021ERSS...7902189S |hdl=20.500.11820/9b5ef9c3-31e7-4a8f-8216-2648da198788 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Indigenous peoples' organisations and activists,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Preston |first=Jen |date=2013 |title=Neoliberal settler colonialism, Canada and the tar sands |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0306396813497877 |journal=Race & Class |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=42–59|doi=10.1177/0306396813497877 |s2cid=145726008 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and environmental activists, including such prominent Canadian environmentalists as Andrew Nikiforuk<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nikiforuk |first=Andrew |title=Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent |publisher=Greystone Books Ltd. |year=2009 |isbn=9781553655558 |location=Vancouver |language=English}}</ref> and David Suzuki,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-09-29 |title=Consider a national energy plan for Canada |url=https://www.sasktoday.ca/central/opinion/consider-a-national-energy-plan-for-canada-4012295 |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=SaskToday.ca |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-03-27 |title=Does Selling off Our Resources Make Us an Energy Superpower? |url=https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/canada-energy-plan_b_2958763 |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> contested representations of Canada as an energy superpower. These critics raised concerns about the environmental footprint of Canada's oil sands (e.g., tailing ponds, air pollution and deforestation) in the context of climate change, as well as socio-economic factors such as the potential repercussions on local communities, the equitable distribution of economic benefits, and the overall social implications of prioritizing the oil industry.

In 2025, the current Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, reasserted Canada's position as an "energy superpower" and the need for Canada to develop its production capacity in "clean and conventional energy sources",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://liberal.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2025/04/Mark-Carneys-Liberals-to-make-Canada-the-worlds-leading-energy-superpower.pdf |title=Mark Carney’s Liberals to make Canada the world’s leading energy superpower |website=liberal.ca |publisher=Liberal Party of Canada |access-date=30 November 2025}}</ref> as well as overseas export capacity. This marks a break in posture from the previous Trudeau administration (2015-2025), which Trudeau once characterized as wanting Canada to be known globally "not for its resources, but for its resourcefulness." <ref>{{cite web |last1=Trudeau |first1=Justin |title=Address by the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada |url=https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/speeches/2016/01/20/canadian-opportunity |website=Prime Minister of Canada |date=20 January 2016 |access-date=30 November 2025}}</ref> The posture of Carney's administration is viewed as a way to attract investment into Canada's economy, and reduce dependence on the United States in response to United States' tariffs during the second Trump administration. Energy projects under construction in Canada include doubling the production capacity of Canada's largest LNG export terminal in Kitimat,<ref>{{cite web |title=Projects referred to the MPO |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/major-projects-office/projects/national.html |website=Major Projects Office |date=11 September 2025 |publisher=Privy Council Office |access-date=30 November 2025}}</ref> and a recently announced memorandum of understanding between the province of Alberta and the Federal Government of Canada laying the conditions for a new oil pipeline to be built between Alberta and the west coast of British Columbia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding |url=https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/backgrounders/2025/11/27/canada-alberta-memorandum-understanding |website=Prime Minister of Canada |date=27 November 2025 |access-date=30 November 2025}}</ref>

=== Iran === Iran is widely regarded as an energy superpower due to its immense natural resources, including some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 157 billion barrels, and the second-largest reserves of natural gas. Its South Pars gas field, one of the largest in the world, underscores the country’s pivotal role in global energy markets. Despite facing sanctions Iran’s energy infrastructure remains robust, and the country has significant potential to boost oil and gas production and exports. With its strategic location in the Middle East, Iran is well-positioned to become a key energy player, not just regionally but globally, offering a vital supply of energy to neighboring countries and beyond.<ref>{{Cite web |title=OPEC : Iran |url=https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/163.htm#:~:text=Apart%20from%20petroleum,%20the%20country's,national%20currency%20is%20the%20rial. |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=www.opec.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bermudez |first=Krystal |date=2024-10-21 |title=Biden Administration Admits Iran's Oil Exports Have Grown Exponentially in Value and Volume |url=https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/10/21/biden-administration-admits-irans-oil-exports-have-grown-exponentially-in-value-and-volume/ |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=FDD |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran - Countries & Regions |url=https://www.iea.org/countries/iran/natural-gas |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=EPIC |date=2015-11-03 |title=Energy superpower Iran will be a global game-changer |url=https://www.friendsofeurope.org/insights/energy-superpower-iran-will-be-a-global-game-changer/ |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=Friends of Europe |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Venezuela === In the 2000s, Venezuela was widely described as a new energy superpower. For example, Manik Talwani, a geophysicist at Rice University, argued in 2007 that Venezuela will likely to join Saudi Arabia in attaining the status of energy superpower.<ref name="talwani" /> Citing its enormous potential reserves (1.2 trillion potential barrels), Talwani claimed that Venezuela will become an energy superpower in the next few decades as oil production declines elsewhere. However, Venezuela's descent into economic and political chaos has become a cautionary tale about the complexities of managing resource wealth in developing countries. The country's situation serves as a stark reminder of the challenges and potential pitfalls associated with overreliance on natural resources, particularly oil, for economic development.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Cheatham |first1=Amelia |last2=Roy |first2=Diana |last3=Cara Labrador |first3=Rocio |date=March 10, 2023 |title=Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/venezuela-crisis |access-date=21 October 2023 |website=Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bull |first1=Benedicte |last2=Rosales |first2=Antulio |date=2020 |title=The crisis in Venezuela: Drivers, transitions, and pathways |journal=European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies |volume=109 |issue=109 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.32992/erlacs.10587 |doi-access=free |hdl=10852/84388 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

=== Saudi Arabia === As a leading producer and exporter of crude oil, Saudi Arabia has substantial influence over the global oil market and has been labeled as an energy superpower. The country has the capacity to produce and export significant volumes of crude oil, making it a linchpin in the global oil supply chain. Saudi Arabia is a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), an intergovernmental organization that plays a central role in setting oil production and pricing policies. As a leading OPEC member, Saudi Arabia has the ability to influence oil production quotas, which directly affects global oil prices.

== Types == Over time, as energy systems change, different academic and critical fields describe different kinds of energy super power based on the form of energy generation.

=== Electricity === {{Excerpt|electrostate}}

=== Petroleum === {{Excerpt|Petrostate}}

=== Renewable energy === The geopolitical impact of the growing use of renewable energy is a subject of ongoing debate and research.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317954274|title=The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy|website=ResearchGate|access-date=26 June 2019|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728123315/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317954274_The_Geopolitics_of_Renewable_Energy|url-status=live}}</ref> Many countries wealthy in oil, such as Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Norway, and are able to exert diplomatic or geopolitical influence as a result of their oil. Most of these countries are expected to be among the geopolitical "losers" of the energy transition, although some, like Norway, are also significant producers and exporters of renewable energy. Fossil fuels and the infrastructure to extract them may, in the long term, become stranded assets.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Overland |first1=Indra |last2=Bazilian |first2=Morgan |last3=Ilimbek Uulu |first3=Talgat |last4=Vakulchuk |first4=Roman |last5=Westphal |first5=Kirsten |date=2019 |title=The GeGaLo index: Geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition |journal=Energy Strategy Reviews |volume=26 |article-number=100406 |bibcode=2019EneSR..2600406O |doi=10.1016/j.esr.2019.100406 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11250/2634876}}</ref>

Conversely, nations abundant in renewable resources and the minerals required for renewable technology are expected to gain influence.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Overland|first=Indra|date=1 March 2019|title=The geopolitics of renewable energy: Debunking four emerging myths|journal=Energy Research & Social Science|volume=49|pages=36–40|doi=10.1016/j.erss.2018.10.018|issn=2214-6296|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019ERSS...49...36O |hdl=11250/2579292|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The transition to clean energy will mint new commodity superpowers |newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/03/26/the-transition-to-clean-energy-will-mint-new-commodity-superpowers |access-date=2022-05-02 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> In particular, China has become the world's dominant manufacturer of the technology needed to produce or store renewable energy, especially solar panels, wind turbines, and lithium-ion batteries.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shepherd |first=Christian |date=March 29, 2024 |title=China is all in on green tech. The U.S. and Europe fear unfair competition. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/29/china-clean-green-energy-technology-trade/ |access-date=April 10, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Nations rich in solar and wind energy could become major energy exporters.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van de Graaf |first1=Thijs |last2=Overland |first2=Indra |last3=Scholten |first3=Daniel |last4=Westphal |first4=Kirsten |title=The new oil? The geopolitics and international governance of hydrogen |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |date=1 December 2020 |volume=70 |article-number=101667 |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2020.101667 |pmid=32835007 |pmc=7326412 |bibcode=2020ERSS...7001667V |issn=2214-6296}}</ref><ref name="cb1">{{cite web |title=In-depth Q&A: Does the world need hydrogen to solve climate change? |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-does-the-world-need-hydrogen-to-solve-climate-change |website=Carbon Brief |access-date=10 November 2021 |date=30 November 2020 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201155033/https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-does-the-world-need-hydrogen-to-solve-climate-change |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.irena.org/publications/2021/Jun/World-Energy-Transitions-Outlook |title=World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway |publisher=International Renewable Energy Agency |year=2021 |isbn=978-92-9260-334-2 |location=Abu Dhabi |page=24 |language=en}}</ref> Countries with large uninhabited areas such as Australia, China, and many African and Middle Eastern countries have a potential for huge installations of renewable energy. The production of renewable energy technologies requires new supply chains. And countries with robust renewable energy industry can offset the geopolitical and economic leverage exerted by traditional fossil-fuel countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Geopolitics Of Renewable Energy |url=https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/CGEPTheGeopoliticsOfRenewables.pdf |year=2017|access-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204083012/https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/CGEPTheGeopoliticsOfRenewables.pdf|archive-date=4 February 2020 |publisher=Center on Global Energy Policy Columbia University SIPA / Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Harvard Kennedy School}}</ref>

China is called a 'clean energy superpower' due to the country's long-term strategy and investment in renewable energy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2019/01/11/china-renewable-energy-superpower/ |title=China Is Set To Become The World's Renewable Energy Superpower, According To New Report |website=Forbes |date=11 January 2019 |first=Dominic |last=Dudley }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/briefing/chinas-green-triumph.html |title=China’s Green Triumph |website=The New York Times |date=12 November 2025 |first=Sam |last=Sifton }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.economist.com/special-report/2025/11/03/the-worlds-renewable-energy-superpower |title=The world’s renewable-energy superpower |website=The Economist |date=3 November 2025 }}</ref> China curbs its reliance on foreign energy by expanding domestic solar, wind, and nuclear energy supply, making the country's economy more resilient against oil supply outages and price hikes. In 2025, the country accounts for 80% of solar panel manufacturing capacity and 60% wind turbine production in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/07/14/china-the-energy-transition-superpower_6743366_19.html |title=China, the energy transition superpower |website=Le Monde |date=15 July 2025 |first1=Jordan |last1=Pouille |first2=Harold |last2=Thibault }}</ref> The decades-long investment also ensured China's leadership position in the climate politics,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/09/new-international-order-forming-will-china-make-it-green |title=A new international order is forming. Will China make it 'green'? |website=Chatham House |date=26 September 2025 |first1=Anna |last1=Åberg |first2=Chris |last2=Aylett }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/asia/article/china-global-climate-un-7bsf3bx25 |title=China declares itself global climate leader |website=The Times |date=25 September 2025 |first1=Richard |last1=Spencer |first2=Adam |last2=Vaughan }}</ref> renewable energy supply chains, and relevant industries such as the automobiles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/07/china-fossil-fuel-us-climate-environment-energy |title=‘There is only one player’: why China is becoming a world leader in green energy |website=The Guardian |date=7 September 2025 |first=Jonathan |last=Watts }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-8d2b6944-4f7a-45b4-96fd-2d92499ff97d |title=As Trump retreats from climate goals, China is becoming a green superpower |website=BBC News |date=18 February 2026 |first=Laura |last=Bicker }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/business/china-oil-cars.html |title=China’s Edge in an Oil Shock: Electric Cars and Renewables |website=The New York Times |date=14 March 2026 |first1=Alexandra |last1=Stevenson |first2=Murphy |last2=Zhao }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-13/china-turns-into-electrostate-after-staggering-renewable-growth/105555850 |title=Why China is becoming the world’s first electrostate |website=ABC News |date=12 August 2025 |first=Jo |last=Lauder }}</ref>

In 2024, the United Kingdom government outlined national strategic plans to become a 'clean energy superpower', being a global leader in renewable technologies by 2030. It involves massive investment in domestic renewables like offshore wind, solar, and nuclear power to lower household bills, create high-skilled jobs, and transition away from volatile fossil fuel markets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-the-uk-plans-to-reach-clean-power-by-2030/ |title=Analysis: How the UK plans to reach clean power by 2030 |website=Carbon Brief |first1=Simon |last1=Evans |first2=Molly |last2=Lempriere |date=13 December 2024 }}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Energy}} * Energy diplomacy * Energy security * Petroleum politics * Petrostate * Resource curse * Swing producer * World energy resources

==Notes== {{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy Superpower}} Category:Types of countries Category:Geopolitics Category:Political terminology Category:Energy policy Category:Superpowers (politics)