-
EnergyMar 17, 2025
Energy Transition in the Context of Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of Lebanon and Sudan
- Muez Ali, Rasha Akel
In this report, Muez Ali and Rasha Akel examine the challenges and opportunities of transitioning to renewable energy in both countries amidst economic and political turmoil. Lebanon and Sudan face severe energy sector crises due to financial mismanagement, conflict, and reliance on fossil fuel imports. The report highlights how these crises have inadvertently accelerated the shift towards decentralized renewable energy solutions, particularly solar energy, as a means of survival rather than planned policy shifts. It also discusses governance issues, the role of international donors, and regulatory gaps that hinder large-scale renewable energy adoption. Despite challenges, the transition to renewable energy in both countries presents opportunities for greater energy security, economic stability, and reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Muez Ali is a Research and Policy Lead at Earthna: Center for a Sustainable Future at Qatar Foundation, an Honorary Research Fellow at the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources at UCL, London and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in Qatar. His research activities and interests span food security, climate change in the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa, electrification and energy access, and the political economy of knowledge production and development. On Sudan, his research focuses on social and economic policy, civil society and governance.Rasha Akelis a researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in Sociology-Anthropology from the American University of Beirut with high distinction. She also holds a master of arts degree in Migration Studies from the Lebanese American University (LAU). During her graduate studies at LAU, she worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Migration Studies where she studied the impact of climate change on migration. At LCPS, she has published several studies on renewable energy and other environmental issues.