• Energy Research

For resource-poor countries in the MENA, the expansion of renewables represents a unique chance to overcome established geopolitical dependencies, develop employment opportunities, and pursue a long-term strategy of domestic energy security. While, in 2018, Jordan was declared one of the top three emerging markets globally for clean energy investment, in 2019, efforts at transition had come to a temporary halt. Jordanian attempts at energy transition were motivated by concerns for energy security, rather than sustainability. Whereas energy security and transition to renewables initially seemed to coincide, technical restraints and a renewed turn to fossil fuels have undermined efforts at transition, seemingly boosting energy security on the short-term, but compromising it on the long-run. We argue that the case of Jordan illustrates how domestic and regional political and economic drivers may undermine efforts at energy transition, deepen established dependencies, and transform renewables’ distributed nature into concentrated forms of power. By zooming in on key entry points for energy flows into Jordan, we explore what dynamics are (re-)energised, and which ones undermined. Finally, we suggest decentralised renewables, communal ownership models, and the empowerment of marginalised municipal authorities as means to strengthen inclusive and participatory practices and overcome fossil fuel dependencies.

This paper critically examines the expanding body of literature on ChatGPT, a transformative AI tool with widespread global adoption. By categorising research into six key themes—sustainability, health, education, work, social media, and energy—it explores ChatGPT’s versatility, benefits, and challenges. The findings highlight its potential to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and improve access to knowledge while also revealing critical limitations, including high energy consumption, informational inaccuracies, and ethical concerns. The paper underscores the need for robust regulatory frameworks, sustainable AI practices, and interdisciplinary collaboration to optimise benefits while mitigating risks. Future research should focus on improving ChatGPT’s reliability, inclusivity, and environmental sustainability to ensure its responsible integration across diverse sectors.

This article contributes to critical sustainability studies through an interrogation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their action towards improving access to water and sanitation. This is done through an analysis of ‘SDG 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all’, specifically focusing on Target 6.5: ‘By 2030, implement integrated water-resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate’, and its related Indicator 6.5.2, ‘Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation’. While on paper Target 6.5 might seem relatively unproblematic, this article shows that its implementation could have some unintended practical implications for countries sharing transboundary waters. This article fine-tunes SDG 6.5.2 by suggesting two additional qualitative steps to improve the indicator. These qualitative dimensions are deemed extremely important for two reasons: the first one is the need to unfold and tackle inequitable water agreements; the second reason is to assess, recognize, and promote the role of civil society, NGOs, and technical and informal cooperation as a positive path toward the actual achievement of formal cooperation. The two steps that we propose are deemed essential if the United Nations (UN) is going to include SDG 6.5.2 as a proactive tool in the achievement of “implementing integrated water-resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate”, as declared in the 2030 agenda.

The European Green Deal (EGD) marked the commitment of the European Union (EU) to a carbon-free, socially inclusive economic system. Even if conceived as an essentially domestic growth strategy, the EGD is inspiring EU diplomacy, as economic cooperation will be needed to realize the EGD’s ambitious vision. This profile aims to investigate and reflect on the potential implications of the EGD for the countries in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood, especially in the energy sector, agriculture and food system, trade in raw materials, climate action, and circular economy. We expect the EGD to result in an increased investment in renewable energy, a reduction in emissions, green diplomacy, and funding opportunities for green projects and green infrastructures. The EGD brings with it attractive opportunities for a better cooperation on climate action and opportunities for job creation, green growth, and sustainable development. We believe that the EGD has the potential to be a win–win deal for the EU and its Southern Neighbours, with the EU goal to supply green inputs and of creating a market for green products.

Water resource development has always been considered as a strategic tool by the Turkish ruling elites to reach food and energy security, as well as to enhance domestic peace and stability since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Therefore, the concept of “hydraulic mission” fits this strategic understanding, and it has become a prevailing paradigm in Turkey’s water resource development. Many academic works have already been conducted to understand how Turkey has waged an ambitious hydraulic mission by securitizing its water resource development primarily on economic and political bases. However, fewer studies have shown how the Turkish ruling elites have also considered Turkey’s extensive hydraulic development, sanctioned by the hydraulic mission, as a foreign policy tool to enhance its influence at the international level. Drawing primarily upon the concept of opportunitisation and the body of literature that looks at, albeit indirectly, the international aspect of the hydraulic mission, this study fills this gap in the literature by looking at three case studies: The Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP), the Water Export Initiatives to the Middle East, and the Water Transfer Project to Cyprus, namely the Peace Water Project. Being informed by an in-depth investigation of those three case studies, this study argues that ambitious hydraulic development projects conducted by the Turkish government do not only serve to keep peace and stability at the domestic level, but they are also strategic tools to enhance Turkey’s influence abroad. However, this study also shows the limits of Turkey’s hydraulic mission abroad. While Turkey promotes those water initiatives as tools for improving regional peace and stability, they are challenged by the recipient countries on social, economic, and political bases.

Dans les systèmes socio-écologiques, la gestion des ressources naturelles peut être caractérisée par des compromis entre les secteurs et les objectifs de durabilité. Le concept de lien eau-énergie-alimentation (WEF) fait explicitement divers compromis afin de maximiser les synergies des interventions. Cependant, il existe peu d'exemples réussis de son opérationnalisation dans les contextes de recherche. Ici, nous explorons dans un contexte d'apprentissage si les protocoles d'évaluation de l'impact sur la durabilité (SIA) peuvent être un processus utile à utiliser pour adopter une perspective systémique et interdisciplinaire pour opérationnaliser le lien WEF dans la recherche pour le développement durable. Le processus et la méthode adoptés du protocole SIA, évaluées pour cinq cas exemplaires de lien avec le FEM en Asie centrale au cours d'un atelier international d'une semaine, ont abordé de manière adéquate la complexité des interrelations du FEM et les questions de durabilité associées, et ont facilité une analyse comparative des études de cas à différentes échelles. Les résultats de ce processus soulignent que la gouvernance de l'eau était essentielle pour la gestion transfrontalière à grande échelle du lien avec le FEM, tandis que la gestion des terres et des sols était décisive pour minimiser les compromis au niveau local. Les questions d'interdisciplinarité, de complexité, d'incertitude et de réflexion sur les impacts ont été abordées de manière adéquate, mais des défis subsistent dans la prise en compte de l'éthique et la conception d'une approche transparente, la coopération multi-acteurs. Plus important encore, cet exercice a montré que l'utilisation du processus du protocole SIA aidait les experts disciplinaires à travailler dans toutes les disciplines et à adopter une approche systémique pour analyser le lien avec le FEM. En los sistemas socioecológicos, la gestión de los recursos naturales puede caracterizarse por compensaciones entre sectores y objetivos de sostenibilidad. El concepto de nexo agua-energía-alimentos (WEF) hace explícitas varias compensaciones para maximizar las sinergias de las intervenciones. Sin embargo, hay pocos ejemplos exitosos de su operacionalización en entornos de investigación. Aquí, exploramos en un entorno de aprendizaje si los protocolos de evaluación de impacto de sostenibilidad (SIA) pueden ser un proceso útil para ser utilizado para adoptar una perspectiva sistémica e interdisciplinaria para operacionalizar el nexo WEF en la investigación para el desarrollo sostenible. El proceso y el método adoptados del protocolo SIA, evaluado para cinco casos ejemplares de nexo del FEM en Asia Central durante un taller internacional de una semana de duración, abordó adecuadamente la complejidad de las interrelaciones del FEM y los problemas de sostenibilidad asociados, y facilitó un análisis comparativo de estudios de casos en todas las escalas. Los resultados dentro de este proceso destacan que la gobernanza del agua era fundamental para la gestión del nexo del FEM transfronterizo a gran escala, mientras que la gestión de la tierra y el suelo era decisiva para minimizar las compensaciones a nivel local. Las cuestiones de interdisciplinariedad, complejidad, incertidumbre y reflexión sobre los impactos se abordaron adecuadamente, pero siguen existiendo desafíos en la consideración de la ética y el diseño de, cooperación de múltiples actores. Lo más importante es que este ejercicio mostró que el empleo del proceso del protocolo SIA apoyó a los expertos disciplinarios para trabajar en todas las disciplinas y adoptar un enfoque sistémico para analizar el nexo del WEF. In social-ecological systems, natural resource management can be characterized by trade-offs across sectors and sustainability targets.The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus concept makes explicit various trade-offs in order to maximize synergies of interventions.However, there are few successful examples of its operationalization in research settings.Here, we explore in a learning setting if sustainability impact assessment (SIA) protocols can be a useful process to be used to adopt a systemic, interdisciplinary perspective to operationalize WEF nexus in research for sustainable development.The process and method adopted of SIA protocol, evaluated for five exemplary WEF nexus cases in Central Asia during a week-long international workshop, adequately addressed the complexity of WEF interrelationships and associated sustainability issues, and facilitated a comparative case study analysis across scales.Results within this process highlight that water governance was critical for large-scale transboundary WEF nexus management, while land and soil management were decisive for minimizing trade-offs at local levels.Issues of interdisciplinarity, complexity, uncertainty, and reflection on impacts were adequately addressed, but challenges remain in the consideration of ethics and the design of transparent, multi-actor cooperation.Most importantly, this exercise showed that employment of the process of SIA protocol supported disciplinary experts to work across disciplines and take a systemic approach for analyzing WEF nexus. في النظم الاجتماعية والبيئية، يمكن أن تتميز إدارة الموارد الطبيعية بالمقايضات عبر القطاعات وأهداف الاستدامة. يوضح مفهوم العلاقة بين المياه والطاقة والغذاء (WEF) مقايضات مختلفة صريحة من أجل تحقيق أقصى قدر من التآزر بين التدخلات. ومع ذلك، هناك عدد قليل من الأمثلة الناجحة لتفعيلها في بيئات البحث. هنا، نستكشف في بيئة التعلم ما إذا كانت بروتوكولات تقييم تأثير الاستدامة (SIA) يمكن أن تكون عملية مفيدة لاستخدامها لتبني منظور منهجي متعدد التخصصات لتفعيل العلاقة بين WEF في البحث من أجل التنمية المستدامة. العملية والطريقة المعتمدة لبروتوكول SIA، تم تقييمها لخمس حالات نموذجية للصلة بين المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي في آسيا الوسطى خلال ورشة عمل دولية استمرت أسبوعًا، وتناولت بشكل كافٍ تعقيد العلاقات المتبادلة بين المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي وقضايا الاستدامة المرتبطة بها، وسهلت تحليل دراسة حالة مقارنة عبر المقاييس. تسلط النتائج ضمن هذه العملية الضوء على أن إدارة المياه كانت حاسمة لإدارة الصلة بين المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي على نطاق واسع عبر الحدود، في حين أن إدارة الأراضي والتربة كانت حاسمة لتقليل المفاضلات على المستويات المحلية. تمت معالجة قضايا تعدد التخصصات والتعقيد وعدم اليقين والتفكير في التأثيرات بشكل كافٍ، ولكن لا تزال هناك تحديات في النظر في الأخلاقيات وتصميم الشفافية، التعاون متعدد الجهات الفاعلة. الأهم من ذلك، أظهر هذا التمرين أن توظيف عملية بروتوكول SIA دعم الخبراء التأديبيين للعمل عبر التخصصات واتخاذ نهج منهجي لتحليل العلاقة بين المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي.