1. Arab Region Progress in Sustainable Energy
Challenges and Opportunities
Ms. Radia Sedaoui
Chief Energy Section
Sustainable Development Policies Division
Kuwait, 6-7 May 2018

2. © Copyright 2018 ESCWA. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation in all its property may be used or reproduced in any form without a written permission.
CURRENT STATUS
 Close to universal electricity access in cities across the
urban areas, but remains fixed at approximately 80% in
rural areas,
 Around 36 million people lacking access to electricity
 88% of population using CFTs, but less than 40% in the
Arab LDCs
 Energy consumption has more than doubled since 1990.
73% was consumed by the residential sector alone.
 Marginal role of renewables: 4% including hydro and
biomass.

3. Page 3
Near-universal access to modern energy but very slow progress in
energy efficiency and a marginal role of renewable energy
SDG 7.1.1: Electrification
 Access to electricity, 2014,
Arab region
 Access to electricity, 2030,
IEA estimates, globally
 2030 Target: Ensure
universal access to
electricity
90.4%
0
Objective
100%
91%
SDG 7.3 : Energy Efficiency
Objective
 Change in energy intensity,
2010–2014, Arab region
 Compound annual growth rate
of primary energy intensity,
2012-2030, current trends,
globally 2030
 2030 Target: Double the global
rate of improvement in energy
efficiency, expressed as
compound annual growth rate
of primary energy intensity
0
-2.6%
-2.1%
1.6%
SDG 7.1.2: Clean Fuels and
Technologies for Cooking
 Access to CFTs, 2014,
Arab region
 Access to CFTs, 2030, IEA
estimates, globally
 2030 Target: Ensure
universal access to CFTs
0
88%
72%
Objective
100%
SDG7.2: Renewable Energy
Objective
 Renewable energy share of
TFEC, 2014, Arab region
 Renewable energy share, 2030
- IEA estimates, globally
 2030 Target: Double the share
of renewable energy in the
global energy mix
36%
0
3.6%
21%

4. Page 4
Many countries in the region are not able to provide adequate energy
services for a significant portion of their population
Sudan, 21.7Yemen, Rep.,
7.3
Morocco, 2.8
Mauritania, 2.4
Syrian Arab
Republic, 0.8
Iraq, 0.4
Egypt, Arab
Rep., 0.2
Libya, 0.1
Arab LDCs remain the only sub-region in the Arab region with significant access deficits, in particular in
non-urban areas

5. Page 5
0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
14,000,000
16,000,000
18,000,000
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iraq Jordan
Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco
Oman Palestine (State of) Qatar Saudi Arabia Sudan
Syrian Arab Republic Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen
Historical energy consumption in the Arab region by country (TJ), 1990-2014
The region is in the midst of a transition from being a major supplier of energy to
international markets, towards an increasingly important demand market in its own right
The Arab region lacks sustainable resource management

6. Page 6
Renewable energy Energy efficiency
 Cost barriers
(i): Cost of technology: Modern RE technologies such as
wind and solar were long not cost-competitive
(ii): Pricing and subsidies: Prices for electricity and
competing fossil fuels are so low that utilities have no
incentive to use RE, nor do final consumers
 Technological challenges. Intermittency, viability of
decentralized feed-in generation.
 Market design. Lack of utility market liberalization
means utilities have no incentive to experiment
with new technologies to drive down costs.
Consumers have no choice over the source of their
electricity supply.
 Political will and policy priority. Enhanced policies
and market frameworks would have the potential to
be 30% higher in the MENA region by 2021 (IEA).
 Missing other incentives. Lacking “fit” of energy
security argument in fossil fuel exporters, low
profile of environmental policy in energy market
design.
 Limited motivation to invest in EE
improvement: Very low, subsidized prices for
energy, electricity and water for End Users,
industries, utilities,..
 Infrastructure: Lag in availability and
inadequacy of public transport systems, aging
fleets, increasing mobility
 Structure of local economies (energy-intensive
industrialization)
 Market design in key energy-consuming sectors
(utilities, industry): state companies versus
competitive markets
 Lack of policy priority and capacity: regulation
deficits, market incentives
 Deficiency of financial products suited to the
needs
 Information deficits: missing data and
consumer information
Renewable energy and Energy efficiency: key issues and Barriers

7. Page 7
Recent reductions in energy subsidies show that reforming
pricing frameworks is possible
* The OPEC basket spot price is taken from the OPEC Monthly Market Oil report. National Government websites, and various national media.
Source: Data compiled by UN ESCWA and adapted from Chatham House 2016 report (“Food, fuel and utilities price reforms in the GCC”, p.3).

8. © Copyright 2018 ESCWA. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation in all its property may be used or reproduced in any form without a written permission.
While climate change has never played a significant role in Arab countries’ discourse on energy use,
……..today the Arab region is one of the regions of the world most vulnerable to climate change
Copyrights: Carboun 2017
Historically low rate of energy use and carbon emissions: Arab region constitutes
5% of the world’s population, emits just under 5% of global carbon emissions

9. Page 9
Arab region includes some of the most water scarce
countries in the world

10. Page 10
Reserves Abundance in the Arab Region
Source: OAPEC, BP statistical Review, 2017
Countries in the Arab region exhibit different energy consumption levels,
but they share their reliance on fossil fuels for energy sufficiency.
Arab
Region
42%
Rest of the
World
58%
Oil Proved Reserves, 2016
1706.6
Billion BBL
Arab
Region
29%
Rest of the
World
71%
Gas Proved Reserves, 2016
187

11. Page 11
The Arab countries are well endowed with potential for
developing renewable energy resources, if adequately used
source: www.altestore.com/howto/Solar-Electric-Power/Reference-Materials/Solar-Insolation-Map-World/a43
source: MAKE, MENA Wind Power Outlook, 2 April 2015, Joffery Dupuy, P. 8
 Wind speed suitable for the production of
electricity in various locations of many countries
 High Solar Irradiance
 Vast desert lands, semi-flat, and mostly
uninhabited

12. © Copyright 2018 ESCWA. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation in all its property may be used or reproduced in any form without a written permission.
Arab Region Key Regional Challenges
• Natural resources unequally distributed
• High vulnerability to climate change
• Water scarcity
• Land degradation
• Food Security
• High dependency on fossil fuel
• Increasing vulnerability to international energy price fluctuations
• Very low, subsidized prices for energy, electricity and water
• Access to finance and technology
• War, regional instability and mass migration
Sustainable energy systems is a crucial priority, especially to meet the
expectations of the overwhelmingly young populations for economic opportunities
and improving living standards.

13. Page 13
Inclusive national development: pursuing policies that
embrace the principles of universality and inclusivity
Without rapid progress in the area of secure, affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), it will be impossible
to deliver on other SDGs by 2030 within the Arab region

14. Page 14
➪ Develop, implement and enforce suitable, integrated and proactive policies and
institutional frameworks
➪ Build institutional capacity, transparency and accountability, monitoring and data collection
systems
➪ Strengthen local governance and communication
➪ Increase and expand Research and Innovation
➪ Enhance interregional Arab cooperation and trade
➪ Increase private sector involvement
➪ Reinforce the role of civil society. Gender equality and stakeholder engagement
➪ Exploit the economic potential of energy alternatives, particularly RE.
➪ Develop local manufacturing of clean energy technologies components.
➪ Rationalize use of natural resources and boost productivity
PRIORITY ACTIONS

15. Page 15
1. Promote investments in clean technologies / financial market &
local market enablement
2. Develop/reinforce technology dissemination & transfer
3. Initiate/ reinforce capacity building programs
4. Develop/reinforce energy data, indicators and analysis systems
Means of Implementation

16. Thank YOU
https://www.unescwa.org/publications/gtf-regional-report-arab-region-progress-sustainable-energy
https://www.unescwa.org/sites/www.unescwa.org/files/publications/files/gtf-regional-report-arab-region-progress-sustainable-energy-arabic.pdf
Ms. Radia Sedaoui
Chief Energy Section
Sustainable Development Policies Division
sedaoui@UN.org