Researcher
Roman Vakulchuk
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Summary
Roman Vakulchuk is head of the Research Group for Climate and Energy and a Research Professor at NUPI. He holds a PhD degree in economics obtained from Jacobs University Bremen, Germany. He publishes on energy transition, geopolitics of critical materials, climate change, investment policy, business climate, economic transition and integration, trade, good governance and China’s Belt and Road (BRI) infrastructure.
His geographical specialization is Ukraine, the countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan in particular, Myanmar and the other countries of Southeast Asia. Vakulchuk advised government institutions in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe and consulted more than 30 international organizations (e.g., Norad, the MFA of Norway, Asian Development Bank, Natural Resource Governance Institute, OECD, the World Bank) on economic reform, climate change and energy governance. He speaks English, Russian, Ukrainian, German, French and Norwegian.
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Clear all filtersThe GeGaLo index: Geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition
This article presents the GeGaLo index of geopolitical gains and losses that 156 countries may experience after a full-scale transition to renewable energy. The following indicators are considered for inclusion in the index: fossil fuel production, fossil fuel reserves, renewable energy resources, governance, and conflict. Some of these represent potential gains; some represent losses; and some the capacity of countries to handle changes in geopolitical strength. Five alternative versions of the index are developed to work out the optimal design. First, the energy resource indicators are combined with equal weights to create two simple versions of the index. Next, governance and conflict indicators are included to create three more complex versions of the index. The index provides useful pointers for strategic energy and foreign policy choices: geopolitical power will be more evenly distributed after an energy transition; Iceland will gain most; Russia may be one of the main holders of stranded geopolitical assets; China and the USA will lose more geopolitically than foreseen by other analyses. The index also indicates a lack of emphasis in parts of the literature on space for renewable energy infrastructure and on domestically sourced coal for the current strength of countries such as China and the United States.
Ukraine's energy transition in a new political landscape
The presidential and parliamentary elections earlier this year resulted in a massive shift of power in Ukrainian politics. How is this affecting the energy sector in Ukraine?
Is this Russia's Kodak moment? Russian perspectives on the energy transition (KODAK)
This project will examine whether Russian energy actors are aware of the possibility of swift decarbonization of the global energy supply, what consequences they think it would have fo...
Pathways that Changed Myanmar
Matthew Mullen’s book provides an impressively detailed and systematic account of how ordinary citizens in Myanmar pursued various pathways to bring about change in a conflict-prone country that was experiencing deep economic stagnation and where polarization in society had been maintained by military rulers for decades. In many ways, the book provides solid ground from which we can understand the recent history of the country’s transformation.
BRI in Central Asia: People-to-People Projects
Along with financing hard infrastructure projects, Beijing also promotes soft power projects in the form of people-to-people initiatives. However, such projects are low priority within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Central Asia. The Confucius Institutes, which appear to be an important vehicle for Chinese soft power in the region, are not directly linked to BRI and were launched before and independently of BRI.
BRI in Central Asia: Agriculture and Food Projects
This data article looks at Chinese investment in agriculture and food production in Central Asia. It shows that the agricultural sector projects have low priority within the Belt and Road Initiative. Kazakhstan is the biggest recipient of Chinese investment in agriculture and food projects in Central Asia.
BRI in Central Asia: Finance and IT Projects
China and its Central Asian counterparts pursue finance and IT projects for both commercial and strategic reasons. As this data article shows, transparency is limited and exact information on the size of their investments is only partly available. In the financial sector, China cooperates most closely with Kazakhstan among the Central Asian countries.
BRI in Central Asia: Industrial Projects
China’s investment in the industrial sectors of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been on the rise since the 1990s. However, this data article shows the recent expansion of Chinese investment also in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Thus, China has expanded its engagement in the development of local industries in larger countries as well. The projects in Kazakhstan are the largest in terms of the number and size of investments. China has substantially increased the number of industrial projects in Uzbekistan, yet the evidence shows that the costs of the projects are small in scale.
BRI in Central Asia: Mineral and Petroleum Exploration, Extraction and Processing Projects
Mineral resources is the sector that receives most Chinese investment in Central Asia. China and its Central Asian partners pursue both strategic and commercial goals by promoting projects in the minerals sector. Kazakhstan hosts the largest number of projects and receives the largest amount of Chinese investment. The second largest recipient of financing is Turkmenistan, where several big projects are implemented.