Workshop | The Impact of the Renewable Energy Transition on National and International Politics in the Middle East and North Africa
This one-day workshop marks the final event of the OILDOWN research project. The central question guiding the workshop is how the renewable energy transition is shaping national and international politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Researchers from the OILDOWN project will present their key findings and engage in dialogue with experts from both Europe and the MENA region to explore these issues.
More specifically, the workshop will explore how the renewable energy transition is influencing national politics across the region, shaping political dynamics within individual countries, redefining regional geopolitics, and the role of the European Union in these processes.
Workshop attendance is open to other members of the IBEI community, including students. Individuals who are not part of the IBEI community but wish to attend are kindly requested to email ykisyova@ibei.org for further information.
The workshop is co-financed by the OILDOWN research project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and the Observatory of European Foreign Policy, funded by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants of Catalonia (AGAUR).
SCHEDULE
INTRODUCTION (9.30-9.45)
- Opening words by IBEI director Laura Chaqués Bonafont
- Brief introduction to the OILDOWN research project by Martijn Vlaskamp
PANEL 1: THE IMPACT OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION ON NATIONAL POLITICS IN THE MENA REGION (9.45-11.15)
Chair: Martijn Vlaskamp (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals)
- Limits of Climate Action in the Gulf Petrostates. Aisha AL-SARIHI (Middle East Council on Global Affairs). Discussant: Haifa SAADAOUI (University of Jendouba)
- Stability Through Sustainability: Understanding Saudi Arabia’s Renewable Energy Push Through the Lens of Late Rentierism. Adrià RIVERA ESCARTIN* (Open University of Catalonia) and Martijn VLASKAMP (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals). Discussant: Aisha AL-SARIHI (Middle East Council on Global Affairs)
- The transition to renewable energies in Tunisia: The asymmetric impacts of technological innovation, government stability, and democracy [Online]. Haifa SAADAOUI (University of Jendouba). Discussant: Adrià RIVERA ESCARTIN* (Open University of Catalonia)
PANEL 2: DOMESTIC POLITICAL DYNAMICS OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION IN THE MENA REGION (11:30-13.15)
Chair: Elisabeth JOHANSSON-NOGUÉS (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals)
- The role of renewable Energy in the GCC's energy transition strategies. Salem ALHAJRAF (Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and Rice University). Discussant: Emre HATIPOGLU (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center)
- To be determined. Ouafa HADDIOUI (Independent Researcher). Discussant: Martijn VLASKAMP (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals)
- Implications of the energy transition on the Saudi labor market. Emre HATIPOGLU (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center). Discussant: Salem ALHAJRAF (Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and Rice University)
- Power Play: Pathways to Renewable Energy Deployment in the Middle East and North Africa. Martijn VLASKAMP* (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals) and Adrià RIVERA ESCARTIN (Open University of Catalonia). Discussant: Ouafa HADDIOUI (Independent Researcher)
LUNCH AT RESTAURANT MENSSANA (13.30-14:30)
PANEL 3: THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION IN THE MENA REGION (14.45-16.15)
Chair: Adrià RIVERA ESCARTIN (Open University of Catalonia)
- Regional Energy Transition through Multilateral Dialogue: The UfM Experience in the Mediterranean. Marie-Claire BOILLOT (Union for the Mediterranean). Discussant: Ignacio URBASOS ARBELOA (Royal Elcano Institute)
- The Green Transition Pathways in the MENA Region: A Conceptual Framework and Insights from Different MENA Countries. Mohamed Ismael SABRY (Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb). Discussant: Marie-Claire BOILLOT (Union for the Mediterranean)
- Competing geopolitical energy strategies: the case of Morocco and Algeria. Ignacio URBASOS ARBELOA (Royal Elcano Institute). Discussant: Mohamed Ismael SABRY (Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb)
PANEL 4: THE EU AND THE RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSITION IN THE MENA REGION (16.30-18.00)
Chair: Mohamed Ismael SABRY (Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb)
- The EU Energy Strategy in the MENA: from Regulatory Power to Catalytic Power. Andrea PRONTERA (University of Macerata). Discussant: Elisabeth JOHANSSON-NOGUÉS* (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals)
- Energy resilience in the Mediterranean? The European Green Deal and the changing nature of the political economy of energy. Elisabeth JOHANSSON-NOGUÉS* (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals) and Adrià RIVERA ESCARTIN (Open University of Catalonia). Discussant: Eckart WOERTZ (German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and University of Hamburg)
- Unlikely Companions of Energy Transitions? Opportunities and Challenges of Triangular Cooperation Between the EU and the GCC in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Eckart WOERTZ (German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and University of Hamburg). Discussant: Andrea PRONTERA (University of Macerata)