Hydrogen, New Industries & Tackling Climate Change With Dr. David Hart

In this podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Dr. Laurent Lambert, a faculty member at the School of Public Administration and Development Economics at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. At the institute, he oversees courses on energy policy and sustainability. Previously, he served as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) and as a Senior Administrator of the Qatar Humanitarian Innovation Lab initiative (QHIL) at Qatar University.

In the interview, the following questions and more are discussed:
Was COP28 a success, failure, or just as much as could be expected?
Will Middle Eastern nations struggle to create and adhere to their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)?
What is the Global Stocktake, and has progress been made in the race to achieve net zero by mid-century?
What will be the role of Artificial Intelligence in the energy transition and climate action?

In this podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Sara Akbar, a Kuwaiti chemical petroleum engineer, women's rights advocate, and co-founder and former chief executive officer of Kuwait Energy. She is recognised as a "national hero" due to her firefighting efforts in the Kuwaiti oil fires and was subsequently awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honour from the United Nations Environmental Program. Ms. Akbar’s tenacity was also depicted in the Academy Award nominated documentary “Fires of Kuwait”. In the interview, the following questions and more are discussed: What were your firefighting exploits during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in the early 1990s? How will Kuwait cope with changing industry dynamics with regards to climate change and the energy transition? How has the role of women in the energy industry grown over the past few decades? As the energy transition proceeds, is there a great danger of stranded assets both above and below the ground in the region?

In this podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Marie van den Bosch. 
Marie van den Bosch is a visiting scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Her research currently focuses on green energy and democratisation, the effect of climate change on regime survival, and energy transition in the Gulf. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches classes on oil and authoritarian politics and literature and politics in the Department of Government.

In the interview, the following questions are answered:

- Will the global efforts to combat climate change force political change and if so, in what direction might those changes occur?
- How will the rentier economies manage with a fall in income?
- Will the Gulf’s economic prominence decline as the energy transition proceeds?
- As the energy transition proceeds, is there a great danger of stranded assets both above and below the ground in the region?

In this podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Professor Fadwa Eljack from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Qatar University (QU).  

Professor Eljack's research focuses mainly in the area of Process System Engineering that includes optimisation and management of gas processing facilities, flare reduction, risk assessment and the inclusion of safety in design.
 
In the interview, the following questions are discussed:
• What is the importance of studying hydrogen?
• Will its significance to Qatar go over and above the traditional uses of desulphurisation in refineries?
• Can hydrogen be used in electricity-generating plants in Qatar? 
• If hydrogen produced in Qatar is sold to other countries for export, how could it be transported?
• Methane pyrolysis is widely regarded as a new route to hydrogen. What is this process and is it feasible?

In this podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Ms Vandana Hari. Ms Hari is Founder and CEO of Vanda Insights which provides macro-analysis of the global oil markets through publications, bespoke research projects and corporate briefings. 

In her career spanning mainstream socio-political journalism as well as specialised market intelligence, Ms Hari has worked in New Delhi, Hong Kong and Singapore. Her skills include market analysis, topical research, external stakeholder engagement, leadership, projects and initiatives.
 
In the interview, the following questions are discussed:
• When will demand for fuels in China rise again?
• What is the status of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline that will export natural gas from Russia's Western Siberia Altai region to northeastern China?
• Will Asian countries ever give up coal?

In this podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Mr Tim Callen. Mr Callen is a visiting Fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) and specialises on the economics of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region.

His impressive background includes over 30 years at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he was Mission Chief to Saudi Arabia, Head of the GCC Division, and Special Advisor to the Executive Director for Saudi Arabia.
 
In the interview, the following questions are discussed:
• Are Gulf countries now more willing to publish their population statistics than in previous years? 
• What is the effect of this low number of citizens among the general population on government policy?
• Are we in the midst of a cultural shift where women are having more active roles in the public and private sectors in the Gulf?
• Do you anticipate a decline in the Gulf region’s economic prominence as the "energy transition" proceeds?

In this podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Giacomo Luciani, a leading expert on the geopolitics of energy.

Mr. Luciani is primarily known for his seminal contributions to the theory of the rentier state and is currently an adjunct professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and scientific advisor of the Master in International Energy the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po in Paris.


In the interview the following questions and more are discussed: 
- Currently, rentier states are more likely to be fossil fuel rich suppliers that are not industrialised. Do you agree with this assertion? 
- What strategies could rentier states implement to make them more economically competitive?
- How is the transition to clean energy progressing and is limiting the rise to 1.5 C by 2050 still achievable?
- The energy industry and politics are inextricably linked. Do you believe this will always be the case? 
- Looking ahead, what will be the major sources of energy post 2050?

In this podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Ms. Tofol Al-Nasr. Ms. Al-Nasr is a partner at Daleelaq Consulting with a diverse range of American, Asian, Qatari, and Gulf-based clients. In 2017, Ms. Al-Nasr was nominated by HE Dr. Al-Sada, then Qatar’s minister of energy and industry, to join OPEC as a diplomat, becoming the first Qatari woman to serve her country in this capacity. 

In the this interview, Ms. Al-Nasr discusses the following questions and more: 
What is the core function of Daleelaq Consulting and your role within the organisation? 
What were your duties at OPEC?
Despite its residual oil production, Qatar is no longer a member of OPEC. What are your views on Qatar’s OPEC exit?
Do you feel the Gulf region’s prominence will decline as the “Energy Transition” proceeds?

In the podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Professor Graham Weale.

Professor Weale is a recognised authority on energy markets with over 40 years’ experience. He has been Professor of Energy Economics at the Ruhr University Bochum since 2016.

His expertise lies in carbon pricing and the EU Emissions Trading System;
German power market – renewables, thermal plants and power prices; energy intensive industry decarbonisation; hydrogen economics and projects in Northwest Europe; and more.

In the podcast, the Al-Attiyah Foundation is joined by Joumana Hosri, board member of the Fernand Hosri Group, to discuss the future of solar power in the global energy mix, women in construction and her various leadership roles.