Page 7 - DMEA Week 45 2022

DMEA SECURITY & POLICY DMEA

However, the programme faced widespread amount of electricity for the 2023 summer
opposition on the part of the pro-Sudani polit- season is the biggest challenge Sudani has to
ical team. So if Sudani opts for radical solutions meet. Electricity production largely depends on
similar to the white paper proposals, he could imports of Iranian gas, and the plans and pro-
lose the support of Parliament. jects launched by the previous government –
And if he turns towards temporary solutions including setting up electricity connections with
similar to the solutions of the governments that Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, Jordan and Egypt – and
preceded al-Kadhimi – chief among them job solar energy projects and gas extraction faced
appointments and scales – then he will further strong opposition from the pro-Sudani politi-
complicate the economic problems facing Iraq cal team, which deemed this to be an influence
and may lose the support of international finan- of Western and Arab countries that do not get
cial organisations such as the World Bank. The along with the pro-Iran axis in the region.
public sector is already grappling with infla- At the level of foreign relations, Sudani is
tion and stagnation, and it needs restructuring likely to have a less tense relationship with Iran.
through co-operation and exchange with the An open question is whether he can expand on
private sector. al-Kadhimi’s progress in deepening ties with
In terms of services, securing the necessary Egypt, Jordan and the GCC. ™

Kuwait pledges to reach net zero by 2050

MIDDLE EAST KUWAIT committed at this week’s COP27 what we want to deliver.”
summit in Egypt to reaching “net zero” emis- Meanwhile last week, Saudi Arabia’s Energy
sions from oil and gas by 2050, and a decade later Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud
for the rest of its economy. The announcement said that the Kingdom is “working to increase
comes a week after regional hegemon Saudi refining rates and develop clean hydrogen”.
Arabia reaffirmed its own similar target. He noted that Saudi Arabia and UAE are
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Salem al-Sabah working together to “achieve sustainable devel-
told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the opment through a number of important” cli-
plans to achieve carbon-neutrality was “a solid mate initiatives, while stressing the need to
serious pledge that we will commit to”. harness existing investments and technologies
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal to achieve the goals they aspire to accomplish in
al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah confirmed the the future, according to the Saudi Gazette.
move and Kuwait’s commitment to regional Last year, Riyadh said it would reduce emis-
and international environmental resolutions sions to net zero by 2060, with oil firm Saudi
and initiatives while addressing the Middle East Aramco aiming to reach net zero Scope 1 and
Green Initiative summit, which was held on the Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by
sidelines of COP27. 2050, suggesting that both goals will rely heavily
Just over a year ago, at last year’s ADIPEC, on the offshoring of emissions. ™
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mohammed Al Fares
made preliminary comments about the coun-
try’s plans to embark on the energy transition.
Until that point, Kuwait had been the most
hesitant of the Gulf oil-producing nations on
engagement with renewables and lower-carbon
energy sources. Al Fares said: “We looked at the
transition issue in a way that we need to make
sure that we have to have a very clear plan, deliv-
erable, wise and, at the same time, the economi-
cal factor is looked into.”
He added: “We are putting a plan right now
where we are trying to look at all different mix-
tures. And we are starting, [since] everybody is
starting in this region with renewables related
to solar.” Plans appear to centre around a 2-GW
wind and solar project, which Al Fares said
would be tendered by the Kuwait Authority for
Partnership Projects and would take the form
of a “joint venture between the government and
the private sector”. He said: “Kuwait is not far
away from whatever you see in this region. But
again, I want to make sure that what we say is Foreign Minister al-Sabah, shown at COP27 (Photo: Twitter/@MOFAKuwait)

Week 45 10•November•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P7