Visiting Scholar, AGSIW
Aisha Al-Sarihi is a visiting scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC, where she is researching the potential for climate policy integrity with economic diversification strategies in Saudi Arabia. Before joining AGSIW, Al-Sarihi served as a research officer at the London School of Economics and Political Science’s Middle East Centre, where her research was focused on climate policy in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. She previously contributed to Sohar University’s Environment Research Centre’s regional air pollution project aimed at assessing the levels of air pollution around a petrochemical industrial port complex. Al-Sarihi’s research interests include energy, climate, and renewable energy policies and political economy with a focus on the Gulf Arab states. Al-Sarihi earned her PhD from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. She holds an MSc and BSc in environmental science, with distinction, from Sultan Qaboos University
The Gulf states are in many ways among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Carbon pricing could be a useful tool to meet emissions reduction goals and hence reduce the adverse climate impacts on the region, while at the same time presenting opportunities for economic diversification.
To meet the dual challenge of energy security and climate change, the Gulf Arab states need a holistic understanding of energy systems when planning an advantageous energy mix.
Burning coal produces almost double the amount of carbon dioxide than other fossil fuels such as diesel or natural gas.
Since the 1930s, the Arab Gulf states have been defined by their hydrocarbon wealth.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, is expected to double its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2014 levels.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report indicates that each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850.
