Research Library

Rapid urbanization and expansion of cities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has created new opportunities — along with environmental risks, lack of financial and natural resources, and social disparity. In a new issue brief, visiting research scholar Osamah Alsayegh explores how developing smart sustainable cities can bring social and economic benefits to the growing urban population.

By respecting, valuing, and nurturing the brain health of asylum seekers and refugees, we can build healthier, more resilient communities.

Is the electric grid ready for the era of decarbonization? Nonresident scholar Julie A. Cohn explains why new inverter technology could prove vital for preventing outages and grid instability.

This issue brief highlights the potential collaboration between Arab countries and China in dealing with the global energy transition, and examines the energy transition from the perspectives of the world's largest economy (China) and richest hydrocarbon region (the Middle East).

Information and cyber action have been important but ancillary components of the Ukraine war since its outbreak on February 24, 2022. We offer a set of observations:

As iron ore, copper, and lithium producers, Brazil and Chile have a competitive advantage in the global energy transition. This brief outlines the countries' opportunities to profit from their exports while reducing their domestic consumption of fossil fuels.

With its significant reserves of critical metals and other geographic advantages, Chile is well positioned to help enable the energy transition. The authors discuss the country's leveraging of its copper and lithium resources and its growing trade with China.

The term “sustainability” is a frequently misconstrued descriptor, oftentimes used synonymously with the concept of a circular economy. In this issue brief, energy fellow Rachel Meidl explains the distinction between circularity and sustainability and how a systems-level approach to waste management can build an economy that is resilient to future global disruptions.

This brief explores a potential hydrogen pathway that also creates opportunities for advanced carbon-based materials in a clean energy future.