Category: Energy

  • Egypt COP 27: Projecting freedom and openness against a record of repression

    In November, Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm el Sheikh will be hosting the 27th annual Climate Change Conference of the Parties. When it does, if the glossy promotional material is any indication, it will do its best to appear open, free and progressive. But with an estimated 60-thousand political prisoners still behind bars, […]
    Peter Greste/
    May 22, 2024
  • Drought in the Marshes of Southern Iraq. By john wreford / Alamy Stock Photo

    Returning to traditional solutions in the face of climate challenges

    The Middle East region is facing major challenges related to climate change, and Iraq is no exception. Despite being a historically water-rich country, Iraq faces demands from multiple directions for this critical resource: population growth, the legacy of multiple wars, transboundary water (mis)management and a changing climate. An analysis of a commonly used drought index […]
    Lina Eklund and Hossein Hashemi/
    May 22, 2024
  • Solar Solutions to Power Outages in Energy-rich Iraq

    In 2011, the World Bank  estimated Iraqis endured, on average, 40 power outages every month –  placing Iraq in the unenviable position of sixth globally in terms of frequency of outages after Bangladesh, Pakistan, Yemen, Lebanon, and Papua New Guinea.  Over the past 12 years, the situation in Iraq has deteriorated further with widespread and […]
    Georges Naufal/
    May 22, 2024
  • China and Iran: Unrecognised Potential and Opportunities

    Iran presents important opportunities for China’s regional and continental ambitions. It has one of the world’s largest proven reserves of oil and natural gas which is important to the famously energy insecure Chinese economy. Iran also occupies a geographic region between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, a key point in the old Silk […]
    Ali Ahmadi/
    May 22, 2024
  • Almaty, Kazakhstan. 10th Jan, 2022. A view of the mayor's office building damaged in mass riots. Credit: Valery Sharifulin/TASS/Alamy Live News

    Kazakhstan unrest: implications for Australian interests

    The abrupt and turbulent start of the year in Kazakhstan has engineered the conditions for a dual narrative to emerge. Firstly, the widespread violence and protests, coupled with Kazakhstan government’s botched handling of containing the violence demonstrated the fragility of the security conditions in Kazakhstan. This was made even more shocking by the apparent mistrust […]
    Conor McLaughlin/
    May 22, 2024
  • Gulf Energy Set to Win in Climate Action

    Climate pressure is tilting the global oil business in favour of the giant state-owned oil companies in the Persian Gulf. As oil demand plateaus and starts to decline, these firms have market advantages that will allow them to dominate shareholder-owned oil companies which face a tougher regulatory and price environment. This dichotomy is emerging as […]
    Jim Krane/
    May 22, 2024
  • Turkmenistan food crisis – a threat to regime stability?

    Turkmenistan has been facing an increasing crisis of food, primary products, and cash shortages. The crisis is a result of lower natural gas prices, Turkmenistan’s primary export, and a Chinese monopoly over gas exports. Although the regime often trumpets its economic successes, the crisis has accelerated, and imports of food and consumer goods were cut […]
    Slavomír Horák, Charles University in Prague/
    May 22, 2024
  • Qatar-UAE as rivals in the Horn of Africa

    One effect of the rift between Qatar and its GCC neighbours Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE has been the exportation of this division since 2017. Emirati and Saudi allies Eritrea, Comoros, Mauritania, and Senegal in the Red Sea severed diplomatic ties with Qatar at the beginning of the crisis, and cross-regional divisions only became […]
    Courtney Freer, London School of Economics/
    May 22, 2024