COP 27 Preview: Electrifying the Middle East with Ali al-Saffar

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Ali al-Saffar, the Middle East and North Africa program manager at the International Energy Agency (IEA). They talk about the state of electric grids in the Middle East; renewable electricity and the energy transition; and why some Middle Eastern countries have too little electricity, why some have too much, and why that matters. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Will Todman and Lubna Yousef about subsidies and reform in the region.

• Jon Alterman, "The Middle East's Coming Centrality," CSIS, September 20, 2022.
• Ali al-Saffar and Brent Wanner, "How producers in the Middle East and North Africa can free up more natural gas for exports," IEA, May 25, 2022.
• Ali al-Saffar and Matthew Van der Beeuren, "The case for energy transitions in major oil- and gas-producing countries," IEA, November 18, 2020.
• Transcript, "COP 27 Preview: Electrifying the Middle East," CSIS, November 1, 2022.