Global Energy Landscape Revision Notes | GCSE AQA Higher Geography

1. The Global Energy Picture

Here is a striking fact: the world's wealthiest nations consume vastly more energy per person than the poorest, yet the fastest growth in demand is happening in countries that are rapidly industrialising. Understanding where energy is consumed and where it is produced is the foundation of this entire topic.

Global energy consumption is highly uneven. North America, Europe, and parts of East Asia — particularly China, Japan, and South Korea — account for the largest shares of total energy use. The United States alone consumes a disproportionately large amount relative to its population. By contrast, large parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia consume far less energy per person, often because many households lack access to electricity altogether.

Energy supply is equally uneven. The Middle East holds a large proportion of the world's proven oil and gas reserves. Russia is a major exporter of natural gas to Europe. Coal production is concentrated in China, the USA, and Australia. Renewable energy capacity is growing fastest in China, the EU, and the USA, though the infrastructure required is expensive to build. This mismatch between where energy is produced and where it is consumed creates dependency — and dependency creates vulnerability.

When you describe this distribution in an exam, the examiner wants pattern language: use terms like 'concentrated in', 'highest in', 'lowest in', and 'uneven distribution'. Avoid vague phrases like 'some countries use more than others'.

2. Why Is Energy Demand Rising?

Global energy demand has risen sharply over recent decades, and three interconnected drivers explain most of that growth. The AQA specification names them directly: economic development, rising population, and technology. You need to be able to explain each one as a causal chain, not just list them.

Think about what happens when a country industrialises. Factories replace subsistence farming. People move to cities, where they use electric lighting, appliances, and public transport. Rising incomes mean more people can afford cars, air conditioning, and consumer electronics. Each of these shifts increases energy demand. China's rapid industrialisation since the 1980s is the clearest modern example: its energy consumption grew enormously as it became the world's manufacturing hub.

Rising population amplifies this effect. More people means more homes to heat and light, more food to produce and transport, and more vehicles on roads. Global population passed 8 billion in 2022, with the fastest growth occurring in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia — areas where energy demand is projected to rise significantly in coming decades as living standards improve.

Technology cuts both ways. New technologies such as smartphones, data centres, electric vehicles, and industrial automation all increase electricity demand. At the same time, more efficient appliances, LED lighting, and better insulation can reduce consumption per person. In exam answers, acknowledge both sides: technology drives demand up through new uses, but can also reduce demand through efficiency gains.

3. What Affects Energy Supply?

Knowing that demand is rising is only half the picture. The other half is understanding why supply cannot always keep pace — or why some countries have abundant supply while others struggle. The AQA specification groups the factors into four categories: physical factors, cost of exploitation and production, technology, and political factors.

Notice how these factors interact. A country might have the physical resources but lack the technology to exploit them. Another might have the technology but face political barriers to trade. In a strong exam answer, you would show how two or more factors combine to restrict or enable supply — that kind of linked reasoning is what pushes answers into the higher mark bands.

Worked example: Building an Exam Explanation: Factors Affecting Energy Supply

Explain how political factors can affect a country's energy supply. [4 marks]

1. Command word: 'Explain' — you need a cause-and-effect chain, not just a description. — An 'explain' answer must show why something happens, using connectives like 'because', 'this means', 'as a result', and 'therefore'.
2. Political decisions — such as trade sanctions, government policy, or international conflict — can restrict or cut off energy supply. — This is your Point (P) in a PEE paragraph. It directly addresses the question.
3. For example, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several European countries reduced imports of Russian natural gas. — Named place + time reference = specific evidence. This moves your answer from Level 1 (describe) to Level 2 (explain with evidence).
4. This disrupted established supply routes, forcing countries to find alternative suppliers at short notice, often at higher cost, reducing energy security. — The consequence completes the causal chain: political decision → supply disruption → reduced energy security. This is the 'because/therefore' link that earns explanation marks.
5. Does the answer show a clear cause → effect chain? Does it use a named example? Does it link back to 'energy supply'? — A 4-mark explain answer typically needs two developed points or one fully developed point with a clear causal chain and evidence.

Answer: Political decisions such as trade sanctions or conflict can disrupt energy supply. For example, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European countries reduced imports of Russian natural gas. This disrupted established supply routes, forcing countries to seek alternative suppliers at higher cost, reducing their energy security.

4. Rising Demand, Insecure Supply, and Conflict

Here is where the two threads of this lesson converge. Demand is rising globally — driven by development, population growth, and technology. But supply is uneven, costly, and often politically fragile. When demand outstrips secure supply, the consequences can be severe: price spikes, energy poverty, and in some cases, open conflict.

Energy insecurity takes several forms. A country that relies heavily on imported fossil fuels is vulnerable to price rises and supply cuts. Countries with limited domestic resources may face 'energy poverty' — where households cannot afford adequate heating or electricity. At a geopolitical level, competition over energy resources has contributed to tensions and conflicts in regions such as the Middle East, the South China Sea, and Central Asia.

The South China Sea illustrates this tension clearly. Several countries — including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia — claim overlapping rights to the sea's potentially large oil and gas reserves [VERIFY exact reserve estimates]. China has constructed artificial islands and military installations to assert control, creating ongoing diplomatic and military tension with neighbouring states and the USA. Energy resources are not the only factor, but they are a significant driver of the dispute.

At a national scale, energy insecurity can also drive domestic conflict. In some lower-income countries, competition over access to firewood, charcoal, or water for hydroelectric power has contributed to local disputes. The link between resource scarcity and conflict is not automatic — good governance and international cooperation can reduce tension — but the risk is real and growing as demand continues to rise.

5. Exam Technique: Getting Full Marks on This Topic

This topic appears across a range of question types on Paper 2. You might be asked to describe a pattern from a map or graph, explain a cause, or assess whether rising energy demand inevitably leads to conflict. Each command word demands a different approach, and mixing them up is one of the most common ways students lose marks.

Across this lesson, you have covered all four specification requirements: the global distribution of energy consumption and supply, the three drivers of rising demand, the four factors affecting supply, and the link between insecure supply and conflict. These ideas connect — rising demand in developing economies meets a supply that is physically, economically, technologically, and politically constrained, and that tension is what makes energy one of the defining geopolitical challenges of the 21st century.