This Interview was published on the portal of the German UmweltBank (German for: The Bank of the Environment). This is a translation from German of that Interview. Enjoy, BH.
Bashar Humeid is currently researching the question of how the expansion of renewable energy will affect the democratization of states at the Technical University of Darmstadt. He mainly examines the MENA region (Middle East, North Africa. Bashar Humeid gives us a glimpse into this exciting fiel of ??political science, which is still largely unexplored. He also tells us about his personal endeavours in Jordan.
Dear Mr. Humeid, in your research you look at the expansion of renewable energies in the Middle East and in North Africa. However, your focus is on the effects on democracy in the countries in these regions. What types of projects are being implemented there? Are these decentralized projects that enable participation of citizens or are they rather large private or state-owned companies controling these project?
BH: The political structures and investment capacities of the states in the Middle East and North Africa are different from each other. For example, Saudi Arabia, which has the highest GDP of the Arab states, announced in 2009 that it would become an energy exporter rather than an oil exporter and that it would invest primarily in solar energy. Seven years later, Saudi Arabia presented its “Vision 2030” strategy. The targets set for the generation of solar energy were expanded in March 2018. The current plan: 200 gigawatts of solar energy should be produced by 2030. This corresponds to about a third of the current global production of solar power. However, the implementation of the project has been hiderd by Saudi Arabian power elites for years. In countries like Saudi Arabia, where the state controls large oil production facilities, we observe that solar systems are implemented centrally in large unites and are financed mainly through state entities. However, these are blocked by the elites who benefit from conventional energy sources.
In other non-oil producing Arab countries like Jordan and Tunisia there is less government investment in renewable energies, but a more progressive regulatory framework. For example, Jordan, which led the way in introducing feed-in tariffs in 2013, had achieved 1.13 GW of renewable energy output by the end of 2018, which is around 11% of total electricity demand. 40% of this capacity was generated by small PV systems installed on houses, factories, mosques and churches. By 2021, the capacity will have more than doubled to 2.4 GW
Are there already examples of effects of energy projects on democracy?
BH: There is often collusions between large energy companies and the state that weaken democracy. This is well documented even in established democracies, as Timothy Mitchells explains in his book, Carbon Democracy. It should be noted, however, that fossil fuels have not always hinderd democracy. Some conventional energy sources, such as coal, had a positive influence on democratic developments. In the case of European countries like Germany, the workers in the coal mines organized themselves and became a political force that was important in building democratic systems.
On the other hand, oil in general has had a rather negative impact on democratic processes. This can be seen, for example, in the oil-producing MENA countries. This is mainly due to the fact that oil production does not require a large number of employees.
In the MENA region, new energy sources will have a great impact because politics there is intertwined with non-renewable energy sources. Therefore there are strong political and economic interests that want to prevent expansion or at least centralize the production and management of renewable energies. How these can hinder the transition to democracy will be the main question of my study.
What connections have you been able to recognize so far or will you see them in the near future? Will democracy in these countries be strengthened by renewable energies?
BH: The facilitating effect of renewable energies on democracy can be observed on different levels. Globally, it can be assumed that large industrial nations, that started to rely heavily on locally generated renewable energies, will reduce their dependence on the oil-producing (mostly non-democratic) countries of the Arab world. So there are no longer any wars over oil. These wars have enabled militarized rather than democratic forms of government.
At the same time, the decline in dependence on oil leads to a loss of power for the Arab oil states at the regional level. Unfortunately, most of these countries have played a negative role in regional politics in the past. Their influence was a major factor that led to the failure of the Arab Spring in many countries.
At the national level, I assume that the use of renewable energies will bring about socio-economic changes. I am therefore concerned with the question of whether decentralized forms of renewable energy can strengthen the political role of individuals, villages and small towns. Does this strengthen local government structures? This would be important to increase the level of independence from central authorities, which is beneficial for democratic processes.
Are there already positive examples of change at the national level?
BH: For example, we can observe in rural communities in Egypt that forms of industrialization is developing there, that is based on renewable energies. This leads to an increase in the economic autonomy of these communities. The question is how and when does this become a political factor.
But even in countries like Saudi Arabia, where the power elite has no interest in decentralized use of renewable energies, we are seeing that households, businesses and even factories are discovering solar energy for themselves. Such developments show that solar power has great potential, even in undemocratic countries. A democratizing effect seems plausible, but it depends on how the authorities react and what state control over such tendencies will look like.
How did you come up with the idea of ??examining the connection between the expansion of renewable energies and the strengthening of democracy?
BH: I was born and raised in the MENA region. Living there puts you in direct contact with the political, social and economic effects of the oil industry. We witnessed the two Iraq wars, which were intertwined with the oil industrie. I have always asked myself: How can we achieve a more democratic and peaceful future in our countries? I dealt with this question in my master’s thesis. In doing so, I came to the conclusion that the factors preventing the MENA region from entering a democratic and peaceful era are neither cultural nor related to Islam. My assumption is that the prevention of democracy in these states is related to infrastructural and geopolitical factors. That made methink and work more in the field of renewable energy and agriculture.
You are already indicating that, in addition to your research at TU Darmstadt, you are personally involved and working in Jordan. What projects did you implement there?
BH: In 2011, I founded a non-governmental organization called Meezan in Jordan . We developed sustainable solutions for water, food and energy in several Arab countries. The organization developed the “Freedom Machine” and installed 15 units in Jordan, Palestine and Switzerland. The “Freedom Machine” is an integrated, self-supporting system for urban space. It combines water extraction, organic food cultivation, solar energy production and ecological building technologies.
Since 2013, Meezan has also been involved in developing a system for growing and distributing organic products in Jordan. From this the company Yanboot developed , which is today the leading brand for organic products on the Jordanian market.
How is the issue of sustainability accepted in Jordan?
BH: The population of Jordan is very entrepreneurial and has traditionally been open for new solutions and business ideas. People picked up and implemented many ideas like mine. Even before I established my project we had in 2008 13% of households in Jordan that used solar thermal panels to heat water. In recent years installing PV panels on the rooftops of houses, shops and factories became very popular. We have more than 500 registered companies that are specialized in installing PV cells. This is a big number for a country like Jordan that has only 10 million inhabitants and with very little incentives offered by the government to cover the cost of these installations.
In addition, the market for electric vehicles in Jordan has improved significantly in recent years. 18.5% of the total of around 42,000 vehicles registered in Jordan in 2018 were fully electric. Many owners of electric cars have PV panels on the roofs of their homes. Unfortunately, the Jordanian government introduced a tax to curb the popularity of electric cars. It also stopped issuing licenses for new large PV units. For observers, this is linked to a gas import agreement between Jordan and Israel. Here, too, we see that the potential of renewable energies is being restricted by the ruling elite for economic reasons.
How do you see the future in Jordan and in the entire MENA region with a view to sustainability and renewable energies?
BH: My future expectations for this sector are very promising, unless governments interfere negatively. There is great social acceptance for renewable energy solutions and I think there is a possibility that the MENA region will take a leading role in this field.
Thank you so much! We wish you continued success in your research and we hope to hear a lot more about sustainable development in Jordan.
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