To Meet Climate Goals, Gulf Countries Will Have to Overhaul Everything
When Dubai hosts the COP28 climate conference, the tension between Gulf countries’ net-zero targets and reliance on fossil fuels will be front and center.
In Dubai, it’s normal to leave your air conditioning running at all times, even if you go away for weeks. Qatar has the largest air-conditioned outdoor jogging tracks in the world. Across the United Arab Emirates, water is so cheap that some people run the shower just to listen to it.
The monarchies that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman — built their cities on hot, arid lands, including the world's largest continuous sand desert. In summer months, temperatures top 50C (122F), contributing to some of the highest levels of per-capita energy use in the world: Qatar ranks first, Bahrain fourth, the UAE fifth and Saudi Arabia 14th. That footprint will grow as the population of GCC countries, including foreign workers, swells from 59 million today to an estimated 84 million by 2100.