256 P. MAHDAVI AND N. UDDIN
pivoted to bio-derived petroleum products, increasing international pressure on the plastics industry will ultimately ripple down to NOCs and
their subsidiaries in the oil-exporting MENA states.
On the public-facing front, the energy-exporters in MENA could
use current fossil fuel assets as collateral for international commercial
financing for new renewable electricity projects. This would be particularly relevant for new projects in the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. It
would expand financing options beyond the current use of revenues from
sovereign wealth funds to invest in the decarbonized sector and re-invest
fossil revenues into research and development for renewables projects.
Less prominent is the development of large-scale renewable power plants
for enhanced oil recovery and petroleum processing facilities. The aforementioned Miraah project in Oman, for example, is geared specifically
toward creating steam to extract additional oil from heavy oil reservoirs
in the Amal field. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has already developed
solar photovoltaic facilities used for powering its oil processing plants.
All states in MENA have in one form or another pitched renewable
energy and the decarbonized sector as solutions to build up local industries that can support jobs in ways that the oil industry cannot. This is
likely to be the best political strategy to further advance the renewable
energy transition particularly in the petro-states, given severe unemployment prospects for the region’s youth. And with the ‘Arab Spring’
uprisings of 2011 still fresh in the memories of the region’s leaders, the
looming potential for mass youth unemployment—and the social unrest
it assuredly brings—could be enough justification to break a century-old
business model and seek a new political economy based on renewable
energy.
Conclusion
The adoption of renewable energy policies in the Middle East and North
Africa invites further analysis into the political and economic implications that may come as a result. These policies can help transform those
states in the MENA from their traditional ‘rent-seeking’ status to one of
higher economic development and potential for democratization. Specifically, renewable energy investments have the potential to lower rents,
deter corruption at the state level, increase access to energy throughout
the region, and implement ample employment opportunities for growing
pivoted to bio-derived petroleum products, increasing international pressure on the plastics industry will ultimately ripple down to NOCs and
their subsidiaries in the oil-exporting MENA states.
On the public-facing front, the energy-exporters in MENA could
use current fossil fuel assets as collateral for international commercial
financing for new renewable electricity projects. This would be particularly relevant for new projects in the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. It
would expand financing options beyond the current use of revenues from
sovereign wealth funds to invest in the decarbonized sector and re-invest
fossil revenues into research and development for renewables projects.
Less prominent is the development of large-scale renewable power plants
for enhanced oil recovery and petroleum processing facilities. The aforementioned Miraah project in Oman, for example, is geared specifically
toward creating steam to extract additional oil from heavy oil reservoirs
in the Amal field. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has already developed
solar photovoltaic facilities used for powering its oil processing plants.
All states in MENA have in one form or another pitched renewable
energy and the decarbonized sector as solutions to build up local industries that can support jobs in ways that the oil industry cannot. This is
likely to be the best political strategy to further advance the renewable
energy transition particularly in the petro-states, given severe unemployment prospects for the region’s youth. And with the ‘Arab Spring’
uprisings of 2011 still fresh in the memories of the region’s leaders, the
looming potential for mass youth unemployment—and the social unrest
it assuredly brings—could be enough justification to break a century-old
business model and seek a new political economy based on renewable
energy.
Conclusion
The adoption of renewable energy policies in the Middle East and North
Africa invites further analysis into the political and economic implications that may come as a result. These policies can help transform those
states in the MENA from their traditional ‘rent-seeking’ status to one of
higher economic development and potential for democratization. Specifically, renewable energy investments have the potential to lower rents,
deter corruption at the state level, increase access to energy throughout
the region, and implement ample employment opportunities for growing