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122. The Development of a Gulf Carbon Platform: Mapping out the Gulf Cooperation Council Carbon Exchange
- Author:
- Justin Dargin
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have some of the highest greenhouse gas emissions rates per capita in the world. This paper argues that in spite of the extremely high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rates, GCC members will benefit economically, environmentally and geopolitically by constructing a harmonized pan-GCC carbon trading platform that will allow them to make cost-efficient decisions about greenhouse gas abatement. A thorough analysis is undertaken to determine which GHG abatement mechanism would be the best suited for the GCC, with maximum cost and environmental benefits. Based on the unique characteristics of the GCC members, a pan-GCC cap-and-trade framework is suggested. Optimally, policy makers would institute it in a phased, voluntary introduction, to be gradually replaced by a mandatory scheme. If the GCC countries implement such a system, they would be able to rationalize their energy usage for domestic power production, and conserve their oil and gas production for future generations.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Arabia
123. The Oil Boom in the GCC Countries: Old Challenges, Changing Dynamics
- Author:
- Ibrahim Saif
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- The recent oil boom (2002 to mid-2008) generated a large volume of revenues for the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia (SA). Estimated at an annual average of U.S. $327 billion over the period 2002– 2006, the revenues more than doubled their average as compared with the preceding five years. The abundant revenues were instrumental in boosting economic growth; and macroeconomic indicators such as growth and investment in the GCC were also robust over the period 2002–2007. On the other hand, other indicators pertinent to the labor market, the structure of the economy, and governance were less positive.
- Topic:
- Economics, Energy Policy, International Organization, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman
124. Report of the workshop on "The Mediterranean: opportunities to develop EU-GCC relations?
- Author:
- Christian Koch
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Within the framework of the al-Jisr Project on EU-GCC Public Diplomacy and Outreach Activities and with the support of the European Commission, the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and the Gulf Research Center organized a two-day workshop focusing on how the Mediterranean region can become a field of cooperation between the EU and GCC countries. The event brought together 30 policy officials and specialists to deliberate on questions such as: should the Mediterranean become a dimension in the EU-GCC political dialogue; where are the potential synergies when it comes to the role of energy; what ways and means of financial and economic cooperation present themselves to promote investment and development; and where do political and strategic interests between the EU and the GCC converge or diverge in the Mediterranean. A final roundtable served as a wrap-up for discussion with a focus on policy recommendations.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, International Cooperation, Oil, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Middle East
125. Energy in the Mediterranean and the Gulf. Opportunities for Synergies
- Author:
- Naji Abi-Aad
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Mediterranean is expected to play an increasingly important role in global energy flows which might result in a greater European dependence on North African supplies and less on the Gulf. At the same time, potential synergies are said to exist in such fields as the development of renewable energy sources, and investment required to meet domestic electricity demand. As far as oil and refined products are concerned, the volume and direction of oil flows to and through the Mediterranean will be important, especially as an expected rise in transport in the near future contains serious security implications. As a result, an increased focus on the development of a pipeline network between the Mediterranean and Europe might open possibilities for Gulf involvement. The same could apply for the supply of natural gas to Europe. In the field of power generation, the improved ability to transmit electricity over longer distances opens the door for establishing a continuum of interconnection from the Gulf to Europe through the Mediterranean and the ability to serve markets along those connections. Finally, the rapidly rising awareness of the need for renewable energy sources suggests an additional field of cooperation.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa
126. Saudi Oil Policy: An Unlikely Weapon to Pressure Iran
- Author:
- Simon Henderson
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- Among the policy suggestions for heading off Iran's emergence as a military nuclear power is the notion that Saudi Arabia should use its position -- as the world's largest oil exporter and effective leader of the OPEC oil cartel -- to apply pressure. The kingdom is increasingly concerned that nuclear weapons capability would confer on Iran the status of regional hegemon. But any hope that Saudi Arabia would intervene to stop that possibility, by pumping extra supplies to lower prices and decrease Iran's oil revenues, is probably misplaced.
- Topic:
- International Organization and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Iran, Middle East, Arab Countries, and Saudi Arabia
127. Oil-rent Boom in Iran?
- Author:
- Martin Beck
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The present article aims to analyze the effects of high oil prices since 2003 on Iran. The theoretical basis of the analysis is the rentier state approach, the basic element of which is that rents are at the free disposal of the rentier. Empirically, the paper examines the issue areas of foreign policy, domestic policy and economic policy. After proving that the oil price—despite fluctuations—has constantly been at a high level in the first decade of the twenty‐first century, the discussion demonstrates that Iran has used the increased rent in‐come to support a populist policy. In terms of economic policy, the regime has pursued a redistributive strategy. The country's foreign policy, particularly the ostentatiously pursued atomic program, has been very expensive since it provoked sanctions whose costs were initially balanced only by high rent income. Yet, in his first term, Ahmadinejad failed to prepare Iran for the situation that has occurred as a result of the global financial crisis: the redistributive policy of the regime has meant that an oil price below US$70 or US$75 now constitutes a severe challenge for the Iranian state budget.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Markets, Oil, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Middle East
128. Iran's Oil Wealth: Treasure and Trouble for the Shah's Regime A Context‐sensitive Analysis of the Ambivalent Impact of Resource Abundance
- Author:
- Miriam Shabafrouz
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The Iranian revolution still appears to be a puzzle for theoretical approaches linking political instability and/or violent conflict to the resource wealth of a country. It therefore works well as a case study for the purposes of this paper: to show the necessity of a broader approach to the resource‐violence link and to highlight the “context approach.” The focus is on the violence that accompanied the events preceding the revolution, and also on the fact that this violence was mainly exercised by the rulers and—excluding the activities of militant groups—only very randomly by the masses. Many relevant contextual conditions had an impact on the downfall of the shah's regime: demographic (population growth, urbanization) and cultural factors (religious tradition, national identity); the vivid memory of several historical events; the personal preferences of central actors—mainly both the shahs—which in combination brought the country to an impasse; and the religious opposition to the regime. But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that many of those factors were influenced by resource‐specific conditions such as the amount and the use of oil income, sudden oil‐price drops, and external interference aimed mainly at the domination of the oil sector. It was the specific interplay of these and other contextual conditions—as much resource‐specific as general, and both within the country and on an international scale—that finally brought about the downfall of the regime.
- Topic:
- Oil
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Middle East
129. The Political Economy of Oil in the U.S.-Iran Crisis: U.S. globalized oil interests vs. Iranian regional interests
- Author:
- Thomas W. O'Donnell
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In the U.S.-Iran nuclear crisis, U.S. motivations stem from its role as protector of today's market-centered, global oil system, herein "The One Global Barrel." This market itself is the principal basis of global energy security today, unlike the political-economics of the old neo-colonial system. But, most light-oil reserves are in P ersian Gulf states— Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Iran and Iraq. U.S. Grand Strategy prevents any from projecting power affecting another's production and undermining the open market. Hence, Iraq was driven from Kuwait, placed under sanctions and the Ba'athists overthrown. Iran alone now projects power independently. Its nuclear program is a gambit for a Grand Bargain to lift oil sanctions without surrendering Regional power status, or to accomplish this asfait accompli. A future national-democratic Iran could find U.S. limits on sovereign power equally obnoxious. These underlying oil-market interests must be publically recognized to advance negotiation of the present crisis.
- Topic:
- Oil and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, Middle East, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates
130. Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq
- Author:
- Harvey Sapolsky, Christopher Preble, and Benjamin Friedman
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Foreign policy experts and policy analysts are misreading the lessons of Iraq. The emerging conventional wisdom holds that success could have been achieved in Iraq with more troops, more cooperation among U.S. government agencies, and better counterinsurgency doctrine. To analysts who share these views, Iraq is not an example of what not to do but of how not to do it. Their policy proposals aim to reform the national security bureaucracy so that we will get it right the next time.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Oil
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Middle East