The MENA Region’s Economic Diversification and Green Industrialization at a Crossroads:
Will War Accelerate Transformation
or Cement Fossil Fuel Dependence?
Dossier
A Publication by the Carboun Institute’s Decarbonization Program
This dossier examines how the war on Iran is reshaping economic diversification and green industrialization across the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on contributions from researchers and practitioners across the region and beyond, it explores the pressures now facing GCC diversification strategies, sovereign wealth funds, green hydrogen and critical minerals investment, and the broader political economy of the region’s green transition. The dossier does not point to a single outcome: some projects will be delayed, others will gain new strategic weight, and the terms on which diversification proceeds will differ by country and sector.
Contributing Authors
Karim Elgendy, Carboun Institute
Introduction & Conclusion
Diala Hawila,
Carboun Institute
Introduction & Conclusion
Fuad Hasanov, Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Navigating Dire Straits: Lessons From the Asian Miracles for GCC Diversification Strategies
Reda Cherif, Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Navigating Dire Straits: Lessons From the Asian Miracles for GCC Diversification Strategies
Muez Ali · Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future
Conflict as a Catalyst for Rethinking Economic Diversification in Qatar
Samantha Youngeun Shin · Independent Advisor and Researcher
GCC Sovereign Capital and Green Industrialization After the War
Dawud Al Ansari · Shaheen Institute for Strategy and Development
War Returns Development to GCC Sovereign Wealth Funds—and Green Industry Is the Sector That Fits
Fatin Resat Durukan · Carboun Institute
From Ambition to Resilience: The War on Iran and MENA's Green Industrial Plans
Haley Schuler-McCoin · Carboun Institute
From Ambition to Resilience: The War on Iran and MENA's Green Industrial Plans
Mohammed Al Breiki · Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting
Critical Minerals After the War: A GCC Value-Chain Platform
Shereen Talaat · MENAFem Movement
War, Debt, and Green Industrial Sovereignty in MENA: Reclaiming Economic Sovereignty in the Green Transition
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