IRENA – Renewable Energy Markets GCC, 2023

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are facing urgent challenges and opportunities in their energy sectors due to global climate imperatives. The recent assessment report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has emphasized the critical nature of this decade in limiting global temperature increase. It calls for immediate action by 2030 to cut global carbon dioxide emissions in half from 2019 levels. IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency, highlights electrification, energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean hydrogen, and sustainable biomass as key drivers of the energy transition. Against this backdrop, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates has urged policy makers, energy authorities, industry, and civil society to agree on global targets, including tripling power generation capacity from renewable sources and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030. The GCC countries, consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, are significant producers and exporters of fossil fuels and have high per capita carbon dioxide emissions. Fossil fuel exports account for a large share of government revenue and GDP in the region. Although the GCC countries historically had lower energy consumption compared to major global demand markets, their consumption has significantly increased in recent decades due to industrialization, population growth, high income levels, and the need for air conditioning. The electricity markets have expanded rapidly, primarily relying on fossil fuels, particularly natural gas. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions have more than doubled between 2000 and 2020, making the GCC countries among the world's highest per capita emitters of carbon dioxide. This summary provides an overview of the urgent need for renewable energy development in the GCC countries and the challenges they face in transitioning from fossil fuel-based energy systems to sustainable alternatives.