The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Countdown to Net Zero
The next few years will be pivotal for the Gulf and the broader international community as the world’s energy architecture is redesigned to meet net-zero ambitions.
The next few years will be pivotal for the Gulf and the broader international community as the world’s energy architecture is redesigned to meet net-zero ambitions.
Despite some large solar projects underway in the Gulf Arab states, mainly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East does not account for a significant share of total investments in clean energy.
While other Gulf Arab oil producing states have advanced diversification policies to ease reliance on oil revenue and increase renewable energy investments, Kuwait has lagged behind.
As Central Asian states seek to diversify their economic partnerships, the UAE and Saudi Arabia double down on green investments in the region to bolster their energy transitions.
Global shifts have revitalized the move toward hydrogen as an energy source. However, discussions often center on cost and technical barriers, neglecting critical questions regarding water as a feedstock in hydrogen production.
While not short on ambition in its energy diversification policy, the UAE faces a particular set of challenges along the pathway to carbon neutrality.
Without an integrated energy transition strategy and political will to implement difficult reforms, Iraq will be unable to reach its climate ambitions.
For Oman, the transition to cleaner energy sources is both an imperative and a practical economic path to a more sustainable future.
AGSIW's ninth annual Petro Diplomacy conference examined how the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are managing the energy transition and expectations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, in Dubai beginning in November.
On U.S.-Gulf relations, a Harris administration would inherit a well-established framework to advance – one it is unlikely to abandon.
Learn MoreThrough its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.
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