The Gulf Cooperation council’s economic model relies on fossil fuels, especially oil, as the main source of export and fiscal revenues. The region’s economic growth, political stability and social welfare systems all fundamentally depend on a resource which is expected to lose commercial attractiveness and in the long run relevance in a decarbonising world. Effective global climate policies and low carbon technologies will likely reduce the demand for fossil fuels. In fact, according to Carbon brief, the world has already passed “peak oil” demand and demand for oil could fall by at least 10% this decade and by as much as 50% over the next two decades. In this context, the risk of devolving into ‘stranded nations’ appears increasingly significant.
While the GCC countries have in the past set particularly insufficient climate policies, despite representing some of the world’s highest per capita CO2 emissions, the national economic strategies of all of the six gulf countries feature the desire to diversify their economy, reduce their energy consumption and expand their renewable energy production capacity. Certain trends such as the cost competitiveness and potential of solar PV and the low global oil prices seem to favour this transition to a low carbon economy, but important social, political and technical barriers remain.
To discuss these, we will welcome two experts in the topic, Dr Rabia Ferroukhi and Dr Fuad Hasanov.
Dr Rabia Ferroukhi is the Director of the Knowledge, Policy and Finance Center at the International Renewable Energy Agency where she oversees the Agency’s work on a range of renewable energy policy issues including design, socio-economic benefits and integrated resource management. Dr. Ferroukhi has over 20 years of experience in the fields of energy, development and environment. She worked in both public and private sectors, including with governments in the Middle-East and North Africa, energy companies in the Mediterranean region and the GCC, and international institutions.
Fuad Hasanov is a Senior Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an Adjunct Professor of Economics at Georgetown University. Since joining the IMF in 2007, he has worked as an economist for several emerging countries and natural resource producers and conducted training of IMF staff and government officials. Before joining the IMF, Fuad was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan in 2004-2007. He is the co-editor, with Reda Cherif and Min Zhu, of Breaking the Oil Spell (2016) that examines economic diversification in oil-exporting countries.
This event will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel. The link will be posted on the page at 7pm.
www.youtube.com/channel/UCOoksFYBCHqZWwVBU9qewZg
