Dr. Luay al-Khatteeb, a former Minister of Electricity for the Republic of Iraq, has joined Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow. In this role he will focus on the energy dynamics in the Middle East and specifically on economic reform in post-conflict states like Iraq and their efforts towards lowering carbon emissions.
“We’re thrilled to have Dr. al-Khatteeb return to the Center,” said Jason Bordoff, Founding Director of CGEP. “He brings valuable expertise in energy from the Middle East. As we continue to think through what a global energy transition needs to look like, his first hand experience in the region will help guide our policy research.”
Among several goals he outlined, Dr. al-Khatteeb said he would focus on the impact the Paris Agreement has had on the Middle East’s resource-rich economies post-COVID-19. This includes looking at resource-based development strategies and economic growth, distribution of natural resource rents, challenges related to domestic demand growth, diversification, and the deployment of renewables.
“I will also investigate the implications of emerging technologies on the energy transition,” said Dr. al-Khatteeb. He said he would analyze the future of the fossil fuel market and energy policies across the region. He will examine the creation of a sensible balance in conflicting energy agendas and challenges ahead in both the electricity and petroleum industry for selected OPEC countries.
Dr. al-Khatteeb is also the founding director of Iraq Energy Institute, and a former Foreign Policy Fellow at Brookings Institution. His professional experiences span over twenty years in business development and public policy with executive capacities as director and senior advisor to various multilateral institutions, international oil companies, commercial banks and management consulting firms. He is working on two books, the first addresses the comparative energy policy frameworks in federal systems, and the second on the political economy of Iraq post 2003.