and started building the region’s first dedicated export terminal in Fujairah. ADNOC targets 1 megatonne of green hydrogen output by 2030. Saudi-based firm ACWA Power is building the world’s largest utility-scale, commercially based hydrogen facility powered entirely by renewable energy at NEOM. By 2025, this will produce up to 650 tonnes per d

As part of their CO2 strategy, the Gulf monarchies have also bet on nature-based solutions, such as: restoring wetlands, conserving mangrove forests, protecting salt marshes, restoring forest habitats, and planting trees. In March 2021, as part of its Green Initiatives, Riyadh announced that it aimed to plant 50 billion trees across the Middle East

and frameworks (such as the European Hydrogen Bank and several environmental, social, and governance investment models) which could serve as inspiration for the UAE’s goals on climate finance at COP28. In fact, the EU could even encourage the GCC states to see its forthcoming carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) as a financial product and �

In this sense, they historically aligned with other emerging economies – such as China, their indispensable client in international negotiations. Moreover, GCC countries have long focused on adaptation rather than mitigation in relation to climate change, since their high-income status allows them to invest in high-tech resilience. However, clima

In September 2022, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, visited Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Two months later, Berlin signed a 15-year deal to buy 2m tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, with deliveries starting from 2026. That same year, Qatar and Germany signed an energy partnership with working groups on hydrogen, LNG, and energ