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.

Five key factors make the Biden administration’s attempts to expand the Abraham Accords in the Middle East likely to fail, writes nonresident fellow Omar Rahman. Instead, regional approaches like the restoration of Saudi-UAE diplomatic relations with Iran are now holding sway.

President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has backfired in many ways. For one, it’s leading to a diminished Russian energy export economy and spurring Europe to a clean energy future, writes fellow Jim Krane.

Is the U.S. headed for a recession? History tells us a near-term recession is unlikely — but emergent threats like unregulated crypto exchanges and U.S. debt servicing necessitate further measures to mitigate economic risk, writes public finance fellow Jorge Barro.

Europe’s reliance on fuel-switching and demand-rationing — and its need for new natural gas supply sources — will persist through this winter into next year. Using a newly developed interactive dashboard, Center for Energy Studies experts analyze possible winter scenarios using Germany as a case study.

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).

Political, market and geopolitical headwinds have slowed down Biden’s ambitious climate plans, write energy experts Anna Mikulska and Michael Maher. In this brief, they explore why progress on decarbonization is likely to be more gradual than initially envisioned.

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.