Thursday Seminar Summary
Speaker: Ms. Shebonti Roy Dadwal, 4 February 2010
The West Asian region has become synonymous with energy resources whose usage is intrinsically linked with the issue of climate change. Countries like Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Bahrain subscribe to green friendly projects like producing renewable energy. The politics of climate change in the aftermath of Copenhagen summit has affected the energy-rich and energy-dependence states of West Asia at two levels, domestic and international. Domestically, states such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran have shown an inclination towards renewable energy sources to meet the domestic demands of electricity. This serves two purposes; firstly, it helps these states to reduce their carbon emissions and secondly it helps them to divert higher percentage of their petroleum production for exports and revenue generation to support their welfare programmes. Internationally, these states are increasingly dependent on the high end technology and as the premium on conventional production increase due to politics of climate change these countries would have to seek international collaboration for higher technology. Additionally these states are also keen to regulate petroleum prices in such a way that other energy options do not become competitive in the market.
Summary by Ayem Tsupokyemla and Anjani Kumar Singh
