Oman’s Ministry of Economy hosted a panel discussion to address the future of the green economy within countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The meeting was a part of a quarterly series to explore potential prospects for joint economic and developmental integration within countries of the GCC, under the Office of the Economic and Development Commission of the General Secretariat.
Dr Nasser bin Rashid al Maawali, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, stressed the importance of transitioning to a green economy in his keynote speech.
"Today, the world is facing a number of unprecedented transformations and a state of uncertainty as a result of geo-economic variables, climate changes, disruptions in supply chains, the energy crisis, and other challenges. This prompted the world to race against time to switch to renewable energy sources. Accordingly; the shift towards a green economy has become an urgent necessity rather than an environmental luxury. These new transformations require unprecedented and innovative levels of preparation and adaptation that can only be achieved through forward looking processes."
He added, "Despite international efforts and progress in the transition to alternative energy and the pursuit of a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the transition to renewable energy is still far from the targeted path. Especially in light of the energy price crisis and the need for economies to recover rapidly from economic crises, which forced some countries to resort to using coal again, and intensified gas extraction operations to obtain energy."
"However, on the other hand, solutions in regard to the deployment of clean energy technologies, are on the rise. Available data indicate that alternative solutions to reducing emissions and facilitating the energy transition are gaining momentum globally. Electric car sales, for example, grew 14% faster than global car sales in 2022.”
“Our means of understanding and anticipating this transforming scene stems from our ability to anticipate the future of energy and find intersectional methodologies to develop accurate scenarios that suit our countries, as energy producing countries for a smooth transition towards a low-carbon Gulf economy without harming the nature of the existing Gulf economic structures. In order to achieve this goal; We must work closely together to promote investment in the green economy and renewable energy, encourage innovation and the development of new technologies,” Dr Al Maawali further added.
In his keynote speech, Khalid bin Ibrahim al Sheikh, Director General of the Office of Economic and Development Affairs at the GCC General Secretariat, highlighted the value of the green economy.
“According to a report issued by the Vice-Chairman of the Business and Sustainable Development Committee at the United Nations, and despite the difficulty of obtaining economic data on the green economy in many countries, analysis of the available data indicates that it may currently amount to about eight trillion dollars. And by 2030, it will reach $12 trillion, providing jobs related to the green economy for about 380 million people.”
The Director General added: “An examination of the data available for the year 2019, prior to the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, revealed that the green economy accounted for approximately 27% of the revenues generated by the 500 largest American companies and 31% of the revenues generated by the 1,200 largest global companies.
All members of the Gulf Cooperation Council have pledged to increase the use of renewable energy.
“The GCC countries are working to achieve the goals [ of using renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions] by developing renewable energy infrastructure, supporting research and innovation in the field of hydrogen and other renewable energy sources, encouraging investment in renewable energy projects, and providing support and incentives for renewable energy investors to achieve these goals,” shared Al Sheikh.
Last year, the Sultanate of Oman pledged to achieving net zero carbon emission by 2050. The transition, according to the National Strategy for an Orderly Transition to Net Zero, could contribute an additional 50 per cent to local GDP by 2050.
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