In Somalia, widespread energy poverty and a heavy reliance on conventional energy sources are deeply linked to ongoing conflict dynamics. Dependence on firewood and charcoal worsens environmental degradation and intensifies competition over natural resources
Solar Power And Environmental Peacebuilding In South-Central Somalia
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
This research paper finds that rationalizing electricity prices and recasting the subsidy as a cash benefit would not only improve the welfare of Kuwaiti consumers but also reduce electricity demand and emissions by promoting efficient consumption
Distortionary Effects of Kuwaits Cheap Electricity
Baker Institute for Public Policy
The Middle East and North Africa will become one of the world’s foremost renewable energy producing regions and a hub for international renewable energy supply chains within the next 25 years. Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan are spearheading the trend in the region through the development of their respective green energy ecosystems
MENAs Emergence as a Hub for Renewable Energy Supply Chains
Middle East Institute
The hydrocarbon-rich Gulf states play a significant role in supplying the energy that fuels economic growth and declines in poverty rates. This role is especially pronounced across the Asian continent and the Pacific, where fossil fuels account for 85 percent of energy consumption
The evolving roles of the Gulf states in the low-carbon energy transition
Atlantic Council
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has not only resurrected the specters of the Korean War in the 1950s and the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s but has also driven a large wedge between Russia and Western nations, creating a rift deeper than any witnessed in recent history. Concurrently, Russia has been forging increasingly strong ties with other nations, including those in the Middle East.
Russias Great Energy Game in the Middle East
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
On October 29, during Saudi Arabia’s annual Future Investment Initiative conference, Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman highlighted the kingdom’s plans for adopting low-carbon sources and renewables while maintaining “preeminence” in the oil sector. Dubbed “Davos in the Desert,” the high-profile conference is one of several events that show influential regional states increasingly prioritizing economic growth and energy diversification
Gulf Energy Transition: Assessing Saudi and Emirati Goals
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
This report marks the first in a series of annual tracking publications commissioned by the COP28 Presidency to assess progress towards two key goals of the outcome of the First Global Stocktake: the tripling of renewable energy and the doubling of energy efficiency by 2030.
Delivering on the UAE Consensus: Tracking progress toward tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030
International Renewable Energy Agency
Saudi Arabia has historically played a significant role in the global oil market as a swing producer—a country or company with the ability to significantly influence global oil prices by adjusting its production levels—within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This stance has given Riyadh enormous influence over oil prices due to its ability to change oil output levels as the world’s second-largest producer
Saudi Arabias strategy with the OPEC
Observer Research Foundation
Central Africa is at a critical juncture in its energy governance, which could shape its energy future. The region is navigating between traditional fossil fuel projects like the encouraged Central African Pipeline System (CAPS) by the Central Africa Business Energy Forum (CABEF) and increasing momentum towards renewable energy solutions advocated by initiatives like the establishment of the Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for Central Africa (CEREEAC)
Harnessing Regional Energy Governance for Central Africas Energy Security
African Development Bank Group
This paper explores the energy geopolitical implications of the ‘other’ energy transition, ie, the slow but steady shift in global energy demand from traditional OECD markets to developing countries in the coming decades. It is a pilot study that aims to raise attention and invite discussion on this topic.
The geopolitics of the global energy demand shift
Real Instituto Elcano
Unlike its prolific onshore, Kuwait’s offshore had long been a desert for oil and gas. Now the country has changed that, reporting a large discovery at the Al-Nokhatha field, named for the captain of a dhow, the traditional Gulf ship. How useful is this for the country, and does it herald a turnaround in Kuwaiti petroleum?
Kuwaits Big New Offshore Oil Find
Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Although all of Africa contributes less than 4 percent to global greenhouse gases annually, many African countries are especially vulnerable to extreme weather events and are unable to adapt to long-term changes in the climate. African countries experience an average of 5 to 15 percent GDP loss per year due to climate change.
Who Speaks for Africa at COP? Power and Politics at the UN Climate Negotiations
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
L'indice de réglementation de l'électricité (ERI) mesure le niveau de développement et de mise en œuvre des réglementations dans le secteur de l'électricité d'un pays. Il évalue non seulement le développement et la mise en œuvre des réglementations, mais aussi l'effet de la réglementation sur les acteurs et les parties prenantes du secteur de l'électricité. Cela inclut les entreprises de distribution d'électricité et le consommateurs.
Indice de réglementation de lélectricité pour lAfrique - Méthodologie détaillée
Africa Energy Portal
Launched in 2008, the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) represents one of the most emblematic and ambitious initiatives for the integration of low-carbon energy in the Euro-Mediterranean energy space. Despite being led by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the European Union (EU), the MSP never achieved its objectives and was subsequently disbanded
Lessons learnt form the failure of the Mediterranean Solar Plan
Euromesco
The country has the second-largest proven oil reserves in Africa, after Libya. It sits on the 10th-largest proven oil reserves in the world, with roughly 2 percent of global reserves behind Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Russia, the United States and Libya
Unlocking Nigerias economic potential with natural gas
Geopolitical Intelligence Services
As the Gulf region navigates the challenges of the energy transition and geopolitical dynamics, regional and international cooperation have become even more essential. The importance of regional energy cooperation in the Gulf has long been a focal point for policymakers, industry leaders, and stakeholders in the region and globally, even during heightened tensions and conflicts.
Avenues for Regional Energy Cooperation in the Gulf
Istituto Affari Internazionali
The following analysis presents some of the key outcomes of COP28. It discusses the negotiating positions of major emitters and the road ahead in globally-concerted climate action to treble renewables, double energy efficiency, ‘transition away from fossil fuels’ and finance the net-zero transition, a key topic ahead of COP29, which is to take place in Baku.
COP28: the long road to transitioning away from fossil fuels
Real Instituto Elcano
As the world bumps toward energy transitions that vary widely in approach, cost, and political commitment certain realities are becoming manifest. One is the sheer level of effort entailed in building materials supply chains that can support displacement of legacy fuels and systems to the extent, and within the time frames, imagined. Replacing legacy fuels and systems that have been the backbone of global prosperity is a complex endeavor of historic proportions
Mining, Minerals, and Materials in the Age of Sustainability and Alliances
Baker Institute for Public Policy
The nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have long been prominent in the global energy landscape, and their abundant hydrocarbon resources have served as the foundation of their economic growth and development.
Technologies and Innovation in the GCC energy sector
Economic Research Forum
The six member states of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (commonly known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, or the GCC) stand at a pivotal juncture amid shifting superpower dynamics. An ascending China and a resurgent Russia in the region coupled with a perceived US retreat from the Middle East add to this changing landscape, increasing the GCC’s need to hedge its bets.
EU-GCC Relations
European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
If COP28 started with the bang of a landmark agreement on loss and damage, it ended with a cacophony over the ‘UAE Consensus’ on the Global Stocktake (GST). Hailed as groundbreaking by hosts the UAE and criticized as insufficient by climate vulnerable groups such as the alliance of small island states (AOSIS), the agreement is in fact both
COP28: What was achieved, and what needs to happen now
Chatham House
Public and private energy finance to Africa from countries in the Group of Twenty (G20) and multilateral development banks (MDBs) from 2012 to 2021 totaled $345.76 billion, according to this paper’s findings. Amounting to an average of about $35 billion per year, this finance was within the estimated $31.5-$45 billion range necessary to address Africa’s annual energy finance gap.
Who Finances Energy Projects in Africa?
Carnegie Endowment For international Peace
As the existential threat of climate change continues to intensify, the future of fossil fuels has been thrust into the international spotlight. Reducing hydrocarbon production and consumption, known as fossil fuel phase down, has gained traction in international climate talks during the last two years amid warnings that the window to avoid catastrophic warming is closing quickly.
In the eye of the storm: The battle over fossil fuels at COP28
Middle East Institute
The United States Is Building Out New Clean Energy Industries. Building out new clean energy industries and securing the necessary supply chains to sustain them are major priorities for the United States. The combination of key mineral endowments in African countries and U.S. objectives to reorient clean energy supply chains away from competitors like China can serve as the foundation for a new economic and strategic relationship.
How Can African Countries Participate in U.S. Clean Energy Supply Chains?
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Over the last month, we have seen three summits – the BRICS, G20 and inaugural Africa Climate Summit – converge on three key areas for development: climate finance, the just transition and global financial reform. At the recent BRICS summit, the world watched as the BRICS group added six members, including three energy powers – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran.
The Expanded BRICS Can Be a Force to Be Reckoned With in Shaping a New World Energy Order
The South African Institute of International Affairs
The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies started researching the role of hydrogen in the energy transition in 2020. Since then the interest in hydrogen has continued to grow globally across the energy industry. A key research question has been the extent to which clean hydrogen can be scaled up at reasonable cost and whether it can play a significant role in the global energy system. In April 2022, OIES launched a new Hydrogen Research Programme under the overarching theme of ’building business cases for a hydrogen economy’. This overarching theme was selected based on the observation that most clean hydrogen.
Clean Hydrogen Roadmap: Is Greater Realism Leading to More Credible Paths Forward?
The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
Steel, a vital material for human societies, enables progress in various sectors. However, the steel industry contributes about 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions due to its reliance on fossil fuels. The circular economy for steel can mitigate the detrimental impacts that arise from the steel industry. This report, prepared by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in close collaboration with India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, aims to facilitate the discussion on a circular steel industry under India's G20 Presidency.
Towards a Circular Steel Industry
International Renewable Energy Agency
Steel, a vital material for human societies, enables progress in various sectors. However, the steel industry contributes about 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions due to its reliance on fossil fuels. The circular economy for steel can mitigate the detrimental impacts that arise from the steel industry. This report, prepared by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in close collaboration with India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, aims to facilitate the discussion on a circular steel industry under India's G20 Presidency.
Towards a Circular Steel Industry
International Renewable Energy Agency
Algeria is back. After years of self-imposed withdrawal from international politics under the leadership of geriatric former president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria now wants to reinvigorate its role as a regional power. But it is re-emerging amid heightened tensions with its rival Morocco and rapidly destabilising southern and eastern neighbours.
Power couple: How Europe and Algeria can move beyond energy cooperation
European Council on Foreign Relations
The IEA Announced Pledges Scenario estimates that increasing electric vehicles stock from 17 million units today to 808 million units by 2040 can contribute to reducing transport emissions by 36%. The benefits of transport decarbonisation are bolstered by the decarbonisation of power systems, which poses an opportunity for emerging and developing economies with ambitious variable renewable energy deployment targets.
Facilitating Decarbonisation in Emerging Economies Through Smart Charging
International Energy Agency
The cost of capital (CoC) for renewable power generation technologies is a major determinant of the total price to purchasers of renewable electricity. Both reliable data, and a deep understanding of the composition of the CoC and its drivers, are therefore critical information. Crucially, even small differences in the CoC that are not properly accounted for can result in misleading cost calculations and lead to poor policy making.
The Cost of Financing for Renewable Power
International Renewable Energy Agency
Most of the clothing and gadgets you buy in stores today were once in shipping containers, sailing across the ocean. Ships carry over 80% of the world’s traded goods. But they have a problem – the majority of them burn heavy sulfur fuel oil, which is a driver of climate change.While cargo ships’ engines have become more efficient over time, the industry is under growing pressure to eliminate its carbon footprint. European Union legislators reached an agreement to require an 80% drop in shipping fuels’ greenhouse gas intensity by 2050 and to require shipping lines to pay for the greenhouse gases their ships release. The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency that regulates international shipping, also plans to strengthen its climate strategy this summer.
Global shipping is under pressure to stop its heavy fuel oil use fast, that is not simple, but changes are coming
The Conversation
Since 2003, Iraq has lost a significant portion of the US$ 80 billion or more invested in the country’s electricity sector due to corruption, mismanagement, political interference, security unrest, electric grid encroachment, and the absence of a practical electric tariff system. Since 2008, successive Iraqi governments have signed several multibillion-dollar contracts and agreements with power giants to build and maintain the country’s power plants. However, these efforts have been unsuccessful. Siemens and GE are likely to dominate the sector without a monopoly, as they have Iraqi partners interested in maintaining the status quo. Since 2008, successive Iraqi governments have signed several multibillion-dollar contracts and agreements with power giants to build and maintain the country’s power plants. However, these efforts have been unsuccessful
Corruption, Incoherent Energy Plan, and Poor Management Fuel Iraqs Power Crisis
Emirates Policy Center
The Arabian (Persian) Gulf region has been at the center of global attention for the past century. Due to its strategic geographic location and rich hydrocarbon resources, the Gulf has played a key role in political and economic developments around the world. The Gulf states have relied on their abundance of hydrocarbons, particularly oil, to pursue economic and political activities that serve their national interests — in many cases fueling geopolitical tensions with other global actors. In order to mitigate regional and global conflict, it is imperative to recognize and address the factors that drive the evolution and development of the Gulf oil strategy.
How Economic and Political Factors Drive the Oil Strategy of Gulf Arab States
Baker Institute for Public Policy
In recent months, the Ukraine war has underscored the centrality of the debate on national and regional energy strategies to global economic and geopolitical security as well as the climate crisis. This paper looks at how three of the major Gulf energy actors – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – have reacted to the pressures of recent geopolitical developments as well as the longer-term trend of the global shift towards cleaner energy. There are precedents for state actors, including Gulf actors, to focus in on the renewable energy sector as part of wider energy efforts during periods of uncertainty and instability across the international system.
Transforming the Renewables Sector in the Gulf: The Evolving Strategies of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Al Jazeera
The successful achievement of the objectives set out in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2015 Paris Agreement requires a rapid transformation of energy systems across the globe towards high shares and eventually 100% renewable energy. As a growing number of countries announce ambitious pledges and actions to phase out fossil fuels and enact policies in line with achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier, renewable energy will need to play a dominant role across all sectors.
Sector coupling: A key concept for accelerating the energy transformation
International Renewable Energy Agency
The study at hand aims at proposing a preliminary framework that encourages the deployment of green hydrogen in three preselected African countries. The three countries were selected in consultation with the African Development Bank (AfDB) after screening 29 African member countries under the Climate Investment Fund (CIF).
Just Transition in a Renewable Energy Rich Environment: The Potential Role of Green Hydrogen
Africa Energy Portal
The Hydrogen Action Pact aims to strengthen joint action on power-to-X (electricity storage through conversion into hydrogen), hydrogen and derivatives (especially ammonia), and to streamline the implementation of existing multilateral initiatives. This report briefly summarizes the status and outlook for hydrogen in each G7 member, including analyses of technology, costs, strategy and stated policy support for each country.
Accelerating Hydrogen Deployment in the G7: Recommendations for the Hydrogen Action Pact
International Renewable Energy Agency
Après plusieurs décennies de réformes, la situation des secteurs électriques centralisés a peu évolué. Le secteur de l’électricité subsaharien reste peu développé et les secteurs électriques font face à d’importantes difficultés financières qui ont été encore accrues par les conséquences de la pandémie puis de la guerre en Ukraine. Les pertes d’exploitation de l’ensemble des secteurs électriques africains auraient dépassé les 150 milliards de dollars en 2020. Face à l’accroissement démographique de la région, les réseaux centraux ne peuvent pas pleinement répondre aux besoins d’électricité des populations, même dans les zones déjà couvertes par le réseau central.
Nouveau paradigme de lélectrification en Afrique subsaharienne. Comment les systèmes hybrides décentralisés changent-ils la donne?
Policy Center for the New South
Europe is witnessing an unprecedented energy crisis with gas prices up by eight times their ten-year average. As of August 2022, EU countries have spent 281 billion euros to curb the impact of the crisis on households and businesses. A significant portion of the crisis is due to Europe’s overreliance on Russian hydrocarbons, specifically following the Russian Gazprom’s indefinite suspension of its pipeline flow to Europe, a way to leverage European sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.
Europes Energy Crisis and the Opportunity for an EU-Algeria Renewable Energy Cooperation
Brussels International Center
Created in the first few moments after the Big Bang, hydrogen (H2) is the most abundant element in the universe (US EIA 2022). At the same time, since it rarely exists in its pure form on earth, it has to be manufactured (Energy Observer, 2021). Its ability to store and deliver usable energy, means it could potentially be utilized in numerous applications, such as heat and power generation, transport.
Global trade of hydrogen: what is the best way to transfer hydrogen over long distances?
The Oxford Institute For Enegy Studies
The world climate imperative requires a substantial increase in clean energy investments across middle and low-income countries (“MLICs”), where energy demand growth and limited financial resources compound the problem. It is a particular challenge for these countries because of the scale and nature of the investment needed, particularly in power and other infrastructure projects.
How Project Finance Can Advance the Clean Energy Transition in Developing Countries
The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
As a manufactured fuel, hydrogen can be produced in a decentralized way in most countries around the world. This means, even in a net zero economy, the global trade of hydrogen could look quite different to the current international trade in fossil fuels, including natural gas. With further declines in the costs of renewable electricity and electrolyzers, regions which have lower cost renewable electricity may develop an economic advantage in the production of low-cost hydrogen, but for hydrogen to become a globally traded commodity, the cost of imports needs to be lower than the cost of domestic production. Unlike oil or natural gas, transporting hydrogen over long distances is not an easy task.
Global trade of hydrogen: what is the best way to transfer hydrogen over long distances?
The Oxford Institute For Energy Studies
At present, countries are in the process of re-evaluating and adapting their energy systems to meet various demands on multiple fronts. The global energy transition is occuring in the context of international efforts to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by mid-century.
The Role of Nuclear Energy in the Global Energy Transition
The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
Low-profile nuclear incidents have occurred in Africa over the years, but these have not always been made known to the public at the time.
The number of African states interested in nuclear energy is rising, making nuclear safety and security increasingly important considerations.
Nuclear accidents are not the only concern; there is also a risk of radioactive material falling into the wrong hands.
Safety and Security of Nuclear Facilities and Materials in Africa
The South African Institute of International Affairs
The EU’s announced ban on Russian oil imports is a strong political measure that will heavily impact international energy markets, restricting the supply of 4.1 million barrels per day (mbd) of oil and derivates to a market which is a net importer of 10.72 mbd.
The De-Globalisation of Oil Risks and Implications from the Politicisation of Energy Markets
Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)
Global demand for food and water is expected to grow by 50% by mid-century, placing increasing pressure on existing water, energy and food systems. This increase in demand for food presents an opportunity for clean energy technologies such as geothermal energy to support the development of “sustainable food systems”.
Powering Agri-Food Value Chains with Geothermal Heat A Guidebook for Policy Makers
IRENA
Fossil fuels will continue to play an important role in the energy mix of many industrialized countries throughout the next several decades, despite the warnings from climate scientists. Carbon neutrality therefore must be an objective that transcends national boundaries, and governments and energy companies need to transparently communicate how they are adapting their climate agendas. Gulf states will have to reconcile their plans for increasing oil and gas production and investments in fossil fuels with their ambitious climate targets.
Gulf Net-Zero Pledges in a Challenging Global Energy Security Environment
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW)
This paper argues that peaceful uses of science, technology and applications have an important role to play in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Noting that the European Union (EU) is the biggest donor of development assistance, the paper suggests that the EU enhance its contribution to peaceful uses of nuclear science, technology and applications through supporting the IAEA's technical cooperation activities. This will contribute to delivering the EU's non proliferation goals, thus strengthening global human security.
Balancing the Three Pillars of the NPT: How can Promoting Peaceful Uses Help?
SIPRI
Throughout the crisis, Qatar has demonstrated a willingness to contribute to improve European energy security and diversification plans. However, the possibility that Europe can receive additional Qatari LNG volumes in the short term remains remote.
A Scramble for Gas: Qatari LNG and EU Diversification Plans
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Hydrogen has spurred multiple waves of interest in the past without significant impact. Two factors make this time different. First, governments worldwide have rallied behind the target of net zero emissions by the middle of this century. Second, the plummeting costs of renewables and electrolysers are improving the economic attractiveness of green hydrogen.
The Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
This update builds upon and refines the methodology of the ACAPS FSO Safer assessment from April 2021 (ACAPS 07/04/2021).
Reading of the Week: FSO Safer: Overview impact assessment
ACAPS