Every country has its own mix: No energy source is perfect, so every country chooses a mix that balances cost, supply, pollution and its own values. The same factors push different countries in different directions.
The points to remember
- Availability: the resources a country has, set by its geography and geology (rivers, sunshine, coal).
- Economic cost: building and running costs, and whether the country can afford them.
- Energy security: reliable, affordable supply that does not depend on risky imports.
- Pollution and sustainability: climate targets, air quality, damage to land and water.
- Energy efficiency: how much of the energy is turned into useful power.
- Also values (EVSs), politics, public opinion, technology and population.
Remember it as: What we have, what we can afford, what we fear, what we value.
What we have
- Norway's mountains and rain: hydropower.
What we can afford
- Poland's cheap local coal.
What we fear
- Japan's dependence on imported fuel.
What we value
- Denmark's push for wind after the 1970s oil crises.
Real example: Norway gets about 89% of its electricity from hydropower because its steep, rainy mountains make it cheap, while Poland still gets about 54% from coal mined in its own coalfields.
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Two neighbours with similar wealth made opposite choices. The contrast shows that security, values and public opinion matter as much as geography.
France: nuclear
- 1973 oil crisis: few fossil fuels of its own
- Messmer plan (1974): build reactors fast
- Nuclear 68% of electricity (2024): low-carbon, secure
- But: ageing reactors, waste, costly new builds
Germany: renewables
- Strong anti-nuclear movement; Fukushima 2011
- Last reactors closed April 2023
- Wind and solar 44% of electricity (2024)
- But: still 21% coal; high power prices
Use both countries in every answer: For each factor, say how it pushes each country: 'Germany's anti-nuclear values closed its reactors, while France's need for security after 1973 built them'.
Real example: in 2022, France's nuclear output fell to its lowest in decades because many reactors were shut for repairs, while Germany burned more coal when Russian gas was cut: neither mix was trouble-free.
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Long answers reward a range of named countries. Learn one line for each of these, with the factor it shows.
Norway
Mountains and rain: 89% hydropower. Sells electricity abroad.
Poland
Own coal, mining jobs: 54% coal; plans a first nuclear plant.
Japan
Few fuels, imports about 90% of its energy; gas and coal after Fukushima.
Switzerland
Rivers and glacier melt store water: 57% hydro; no fossil fuels of its own.
Costa Rica
Hydropower, geothermal and wind: almost 100% renewable electricity.
Geography or the environment?: Geography decides what a country can use; concern for the environment decides what it chooses from that list. Countries rich in fossil fuels often keep using them even when they care about climate change.
Energy security is one of the strongest factors. A country that cannot rely on its supply will pay almost any price to secure it.
The points to remember
- Energy security = access to affordable and reliable energy.
- Countries that import most of their energy are exposed to price rises and supply cuts.
- Security can push choices either way: local renewables (more sustainable) or local coal and shale gas (less sustainable).
- Diversifying sources and saving energy both improve security.
Security making choices greener
- Denmark built wind after the 1970s oil crises
- Morocco builds solar to cut fuel imports
- Europe sped up renewables after 2022
Security making choices less green
- The USA expanded shale gas and oil by fracking
- Germany burned more coal in 2022
- Poland keeps its own coal
Real example: in 2022 Russia cut gas supplies to Europe and prices soared; Germany opened its first import terminal for liquefied gas in December 2022 and also sped up wind and solar.
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People's environmental value systems, and the governments they elect, decide which of the possible sources a country actually uses.
The points to remember
- Technocentric governments favour nuclear, carbon capture and big renewable projects.
- Ecocentric groups favour using less, small-scale renewables and oppose nuclear.
- Anthropocentric policies use laws and markets: carbon taxes, targets, subsidies.
- Public opinion and protest can close power stations or stop new ones.
- Lock-in: existing power stations, jobs and companies with a stake in fossil fuels slow change.
Technocentric choices
- Nuclear power as a climate solution
- Carbon capture and storage
- Large wind and solar farms
Ecocentric choices
- Use less energy
- Small, local renewables
- No nuclear: waste and risk
Real example: Germany's anti-nuclear movement grew over decades of protest; after Fukushima in 2011 the government decided to close every reactor, and the last three shut in April 2023.
Governments steer energy choices with laws and money. Papers ask for a strategy at government level, not something one person does.
The points to remember
- Subsidies and grants for solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles.
- Taxes on carbon, fossil fuels or imported fuel (a carbon tax).
- Better rates for electricity sold from renewable sources.
- Easier planning permission and grid investment to connect new wind and solar farms.
- Bans or phase-outs of fossil fuel plants; research; education campaigns.
- Strategies are government-level: not 'people should turn off lights'.
Pay
Subsidies, grants and better rates for renewable power.
Charge
Carbon taxes and taxes on imported fossil fuels.
Build
Grid lines, storage, charging points.
Rule
Phase-outs, easier permits, efficiency standards.
Name the tool: 'Pass a law' or 'invest in renewables' alone is too vague. Say what the law does or what is paid for: 'subsidise rooftop solar panels'.
Real example: in 2013 the UK set a carbon price floor that made burning coal more expensive; coal fell from about 40% of its electricity in 2012 to almost nothing by 2024.
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How this comes up: Paper 2 Section B (c) (May 2023, both time zones; May 2018; November 2018): a [9] on what drives energy choices, marked on markbands. Named countries are needed for the highest marks.
With reference to named countries, to what extent are a country's energy choices affected more by its geographical location than by the environmental impacts of energy sources?
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