HAITHAMALAINIHaitham Alaini - WhattheCleanEnergyRevolutionMeansforYemen

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CleanEnergyToday

Ageneralthemefor2017hasbeencleanandrenewableenergy.Traditional

fossilfuelsaremakingamajorshift. Forbesrecentlywrote abouttheclean

energyrevolutionsaying, "Drivenbyitsemissions-reductionpotential,

electricityconsumptionwillgrowtwiceasmuchastotalenergydemand,

whichisforecasttorisebyupto70%inthenext25yearsaccordingtothe

InternationalEnergyAgency(IEA)."

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WhenitBegan

Thepushtowardscleanerenergybeganin2016whenmultiplecountries

agreedtomakeamajorshifttowardreducinggreenhousegasemissions.

Theoilrichmiddleeasthashistoricallyviewedenergyresourcesasapublic

good.However,overtimecountriesthroughoutthemiddleeast,including

Yemenhasproventhatalotofmoneyisbeingdishedouttotheseenergy

services.

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WhenitBegan

A2016articlepublishedbytheWorldEconomicForum highlightedthe

effortsof196countrieslimitingglobaltemperatures.

“CountriesintheMiddleEastandNorthAfricaregionarewillingtodotheir

sharetomitigateclimatechange,asdemonstratedbytheirrespective

IntendedNationallyDeterminedContributions. Moroccoforoneindicated

itsinteresttoincreasetheshareofrenewablesto52%by2030,whichis

remarkablegiventherecentdependencyonfossilfuelsforpower

generation. Itisclearthatenergyexportersareinterestedtomaintaintheir

roleofglobalenergysupplier,andhaveastakeintheglobalshifttowards

sustainableenergy.”

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RecentEfforts

SaudiArabiaisalready“leaving”oilbehind.“Asfarasoilprices,andoil,Ihaveleftthat

behind”,said SaudioilministerAlial-Naimi, wholedthecountry’soilsectorfor21years.

“Now,I’mmuchmoreinterestedinsolarenergy,makingsolarpanels”,headded.

SpeakingonJanuary20thattheWorldEconomicForuminDavos,Switzerland,Saudi

EnergyMinisterKhaledalFalih suggestedthatSaudiArabiacouldbecomea“major

exporter”ofrenewableenergy,saying, “solarthatisproducedinSaudiArabiacanbe

exportedallthewaytoEuropethroughanetwork”.

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WhatitMeansforYemen

Crudeoil,coffee,driedandsaltedfish,andliquefiednaturalgaswere

Yemen’smainexportsin2014.Flashforwardtonowandthecountryhas

ultimatelyhaltedexports.Solar,wind,andthermalenergyareallcheap

optionsthatcouldvastlyhelpYemen.

Affordableandcleanenergyisoneofthe17goalsforthe UnitedNations

DevelopmentProgramme. “Between1990and2010,thenumberofpeople

withaccesstoelectricityhasincreasedby1.7billion,andastheglobal

populationcontinuestorisesowillthedemandforcheapenergy.”

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WhatitMeansforYemen

ThecleanenergyrevolutionisagoodthingforYemen.For

countrieslikeYemen,itisveryimportantthatenergysourcesare

diversified.TheUNDPsays,“Decentralizedenergysystemscan

helplimittheriskstotheenergysector,suchasthoserelatedto

disasters. “

CleanenergyinYemencouldreducepoverty,helpwithsocial

progressandeconomicgrowth.

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