Premium
The energy poverty nexus in the M iddle E ast and N orth A frica
Author(s) -
ElKatiri Laura
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
opec energy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1753-0237
pISSN - 1753-0229
DOI - 10.1111/opec.12029
Subject(s) - nexus (standard) , poverty , energy (signal processing) , energy strategy , economics , economy , development economics , energy policy , economic growth , engineering , renewable energy , physics , electrical engineering , embedded system , quantum mechanics
Energy access remains one of the forgotten millennium development goals, despite being a key ingredient to sustained and equitable socio‐economic growth and development. This article looks at the energy poverty nexus in the Middle East and North A frica, a region frequently overlooked in the study of energy access owing to its significant hydrocarbon wealth, and the impact energy poverty has made on parts of the region. A closer look reveals the puzzling picture of a region divided between energy abundant states and states with continuingly high rates of lacking access to electricity and secure supply of modern fuels. The existence of some of the worst cases of energy poverty in the MENA in net exporters of oil and gas such as Y emen and E gypt further demonstrates that energy poverty is effectively a domestic distributive problem, rather than one caused by a country's lacking natural resources. The article explores the main causal factors and suggests short‐ and long‐term policy remedies.