Are Energy Security Concerns Dominating Environmental Concerns? Evidence from Stakeholder Participation Processes on Energy Transition in Jordan

Nadejda Komendantova,Love Ekenberg,Ahmed Al Salaymeh,Mats Danielson,Leena Marashdeh,Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer

doi:10.3390/cli6040088

Abstract

To satisfy Jordan’s growing demand for electricity and to diversify its energy mix, the Jordanian government is considering a number of electricity-generation technologies that would allow for locally available resources to be used alongside imported energy. Energy policy in Jordan aims to address both climate change mitigation and energy security by increasing the share of low-carbon technologies and domestically available resources in the Jordanian electricity mix. Existing technological alternatives include the scaling up of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind; the deployment of nuclear energy; and shale oil exploration. However, the views, perceptions, and opinions regarding these technologies—their benefits, risks, and costs—vary significantly among different social groups both inside and outside the country. Considering the large-scale policy intervention that would be needed to deploy these technologies, a compromise solution must be reached. This paper is based on the results of a four-year research project that included extensive stakeholder processes in Jordan, involving several social groups and the application of various methods of participatory governance research, such as multi-criteria decision-making. The results show the variety of opinions expressed and provide insights into each type of electricity-generation technology and its relevance for each stakeholder group. There is a strong prevalence of economic rationality in the results, given that electricity-system costs are prioritized by almost all stakeholder groups.

Highlights

Goals of Energy Policy in JordanThe main goal of Jordan’s energy policy is to decrease the country’s dependence on imported energy sources from 82% to 40% by 2020
The country, which is strongly dependent on energy imports, is affected by the local conflicts in neighboring Iraq and Syria and by former and ongoing political unrest in the entire Middle East and North African (MENA) region
We considered the entire range of values of all alternatives presented across all criteria, as well as how plausible it was that an alternative outranked the remaining ones

Summary

Introduction

Goals of Energy Policy in JordanThe main goal of Jordan’s energy policy is to decrease the country’s dependence on imported energy sources from 82% to 40% by 2020. Energy supply in Jordan is driven by the dominance of fossil fuel imports from neighboring countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. An upper middle-income country, is currency facing several socioeconomic development issues linked to the political situation in the MENA region, such as instability and migration. The country, which is strongly dependent on energy imports, is affected by the local conflicts in neighboring Iraq and Syria and by former and ongoing political unrest in the entire MENA region. Even though the overall socioeconomic development of Jordan is positive, the country is facing a number of challenges, such as high state debts due to energy imports; a low level of foreign direct investment; and a relatively high level of unemployment, especially among women and young people. In 2008, Jordanian government debt constituted 60% of GDP which was the lowest level since 1990. Spending on energy is quite high, environmental spending represents only 0.5% of the government budget

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion