The Middle Eastern Oil Industry and Clean Energy Alternatives
Sally Hayes ’25
Christine Wu ’25
The Middle Eastern Nations’ gross domestic product growth depends upon the revenue gained from oil exports. With oil responsible for 32% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Middle Eastern Nations must economically diversify to mitigate rising protests tied between the oil industry and its impact on climate change(IEA, 2023). Moreover, climate change-related droughts and floods have diminished human well-being and ecosystem resilience in the Middle East. To ensure economic stability and alleviation of climate change, nations must economically diversify to shift away from their current reliance on the oil industry, while avoiding a major economic recession.
The United Arab Emirates epitomizes successful economic diversification through environmentally sustainable investments. During the 28th annual Climate Change Conference, the UAE pledged 4.5 billion US dollars towards African clean energy investments. Remediating climate injustices that occurred because of European colonization, a great portion of this funding will go towards putting Africa at the front lines of clean energy development (COP28, 2023). This project further aims to provide energy to the 600 million people who live without electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa (Molavi, 2023). Stemming from the drive for energy alternatives, the UAE raised the standard of investment and innovation for all nations pursuing clean energy development.
In July of 2023, Qatar announced a $4 billion investment in a United Kingdom green energy development research hub (“Qatar to Fund”, 2023). Qatar emphasizes education and research to achieve its sustainability and climate goals. With aims to improve Qatar's connection to clean energy creations and initiatives, Qatar funded Qatar-based campuses in universities located in the United States and the UK (Sarant, 2016). Further, they have diversified their economic portfolio to include solar energy and solar plant investments. Implementing initiatives already, Qatar plans to continue its goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Though many nations have actively advocated for renewable resources in combatting climate change, some Middle Eastern countries have ignored the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. For example, Iraq plans to raise its crude output from about 4 million barrels per day to more than 5 million by 2027, despite environmental concerns (Ansary & Ajrash, 2023). Looking exclusively at the economic benefits, in these next 4 years the Iraq Federal Government will support oil infrastructure expansion. Despite the consequences of climate change, some countries have prioritized economic proliferation, going against global efforts to become independent from oil extractions and exports. By switching to clean energy alternatives, nations will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase climate equity. The rising support in nations towards clean energy including solar, hydrogen, and hydrologic energy infrastructure shows an admirable commitment to a sustainable future. The Middle East has already begun to face the repercussions of the climate crisis, and immediate action must be taken to stop further damage. Rather than maintaining an immediate focus on economic prosperity from the oil industry, nations in the Middle East must collectively reduce the use of oil extraction to reverse the effects of the current climate crisis.
References
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Ansary, K. A., & Ajrash, K. (2022, November 27). Iraq plans to start expanding oil export capacity from next year. Bloomberg.com.
COP28. (2023, September 5). COP28 presidency announces US$4.5 billion UAE Finance initiative to unlock Africa’s Clean
Energy Potential. PR Newswire: news distribution, targeting and monitoring. https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/cop28-presidency-announces-us4-5-billion-uae-finance-initiative-to-unlock-africas-clean-energy-potential-301917499.html
IEA. (2023, August). Greenhouse gas emissions from Energy Data Explorer – Data Tools. IEA.
Molavi, A. (2023, September 21). As Africa Renewable Energy Finance Gap Widens, UAE steps in with major investments. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/afshinmolavi/2023/09/20/as-africa-falls-behind-on-renewable-energy-uae-steps-in-with-major-investments/?sh=6dc196204c75
(2023, September 10). Qatar to fund $4bn UK Green Research Hub. Arab News.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2370831/business-economy
Sarant, L. (2016, August 31). The Middle East: An end to oil dependency. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/537S6a
