Out of the Energy Labyrinth


Carole Nakhle, Surrey Energy Economics Centre (SEEC), University of Surrey

This seminar will present the ideas developed in Carole Nakhle's book: "Out of the Energy Labyrinth".

Energy security now means climate security later - that is the book's novel and challenging message.

Is the mounting debate about climate change ignoring much more immediate dangers to world energy security? According to David Howell and Carole Nakhle there is a greener, cleaner and safer energy future ahead. But are we are set on a path that will miss it altogether? In the struggle against global warming the acute and immediate threats to secure energy supplies tend to be pushed aside. Indeed, the world's ceaselessly growing thirst for energy - mostly in the form of oil, gas and coal - is depicted as the villain of the piece, the chief enemy of greater eventual climate security. Not so, say David Howell and Carole Nakhle in their provocative new book. On the contrary, the two great concerns - energy security now and climate security in the years to come - are interwoven and completely dependent on each other. Unless they are tackled together, and past mistakes corrected, short term energy chaos could undermine all long term hopes.

About the speaker
Born in Lebanon, Dr. Carole Nakhle is an energy analyst based in London and specialising in geopolitics of oil and gas, energy policy and security, and international petroleum fiscal regimes. She is a Research Fellow in Energy at Surrey Energy Economics Centre (SEEC), at the University of Surrey – UK. She is also Special Parliamentary Adviser on Energy Issues and Middle Eastern Affairs to The Rt. Hon Lord Howell of Guildford, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, House of Lords, UK. Dr. Nakhle is also a Senior Consultant to Middle East Consultants International Ltd, leading major studies on a series of integrated political risk/energy related reports. She is also a tax editor in Oil, Gas and Energy Law Intelligence (OGEL). She teaches economics, energy economics, business and management studies. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster. She has published papers and articles on petroleum fiscal regimes, energy security, sharing the oil wealth, and the role of women in the oil industry. Her work has appeared in various magazines and newspapers including the International Energy Law and Taxation Review and the International Herald Tribune as well as Arabic newspapers. She has recently completed a book - “Out of the Energy Labyrinth” - that she co-authored with Lord Howell, the former UK Energy Secretary. Dr. Nakhle is currently working on her second book entitled “Petroleum Taxation”.

Venue: Keizer Karelplein 19, Maastricht

Date: 13 September 2007

Time: 16:00  CET


UNU-MERIT