Article by BEU Staff Member Published in a Q1 Category Journal

An academic article co-authored by Shahriyar Mukhtarov, a staff member of the Scientific Research Center of Baku Engineering University (BEU), has been published in an international Q1 category journal indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases.

The article, titled "The climate-electricity nexus in the GCC: How rising temperatures drive electricity demand across Gulf states," published in Energy Policy — one of the world's prestigious scientific publications in the field of energy policy, published by Elsevier - examines the relationship between climate change and electricity demand using the example of member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The research is dedicated to the region's warming at approximately three times the global average rate and its impact on energy systems. Using data covering 1990-2022, the authors employed cointegration methods to estimate income, price, and temperature elasticities for each country.

The results show that a 1°C increase in average annual temperature raises electricity consumption in GCC countries by 3.1–5.8 percent. Across the region, this translates into an additional 32.2 TWh in electricity demand, 16.8 million tons of CO₂ emissions, and approximately $1.9 billion in additional electricity generation costs. The research shows that temperature is one of the main drivers of electricity consumption, while also indicating that appropriate tariff policy could partially offset climate-related demand growth.

The authors identify increasing energy efficiency, applying modern cooling technologies, and continuing price reforms as key directions for GCC countries to achieve their net-zero emissions targets.

The article can be accessed through the following links: 

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115490

Scopus:
https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105044309176