Research Library

As we are celebrating the first decade of the journal, we reflect on some of the major issues driving policy, industry, and academia.

For petrostates like Saudi Arabia, new tactics and strategies will be needed to recapture the strategic interest of global powers, and to cope with the transition away from fossil fuels. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Fall 2020.

This study presents an integrated framework for hurricane risk assessment of petroleum infrastructure under changing climatic conditions, calculating risk in terms of monetary loss.

Climate change poses a strategic dilemma for Gulf oil-exporting states. The author analyzes the risks of climate (in)action for regimes who must weigh the costs of decarbonization against the costs of climate change. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies: http://bit.ly/30udfxC

The author examines Saudi Arabia's climate strategy as part of an Oxford Institute for Energy Studies report on economic diversification in the MENA.

Disease and poverty fellow Peter J. Hotez examines the rise of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Texas, arguing that the spread of diseases like chikungunya West Nile, Zika and Ebola has not occurred by accident but instead reflects rapidly evolving changes and shifts in a “new” Texas beset by modern and globalizating forces.

The United States appears less exposed to geopolitical risks affecting its oil supply than at any time since the early 1970s due to fracking, climate change and a more diverse energy supply, according to research by energy fellow Jim Krane and Kenneth B. Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies.

A combination of factors is encouraging Saudi Arabia to consider raising crude oil production capacity beyond the current ceiling of 12.5 million barrels per day. However, an increase in Saudi crude oil production would have consequences for markets and competing forms of energy, as well as for the kingdom's geopolitical stature, writes fellow Jim Krane in an article for Energy Policy.

The authors present a vision for enhancing the efficiency and resiliency of urban water systems and discuss ways to overcome associated implementation challenges. Environmental Science & Technology: https://bit.ly/2O2I6wD.

Krane finds that the coal industry is at greater risk of being targeted by climate-related regulation amid decreasing social acceptance of its use, while the oil industry faces reduced risks due to its lack of substitutes.