A longstanding challenge in the hydrogen ecosystem is the required upgrade of existing energy infrastructure and the construction of new infrastructure. These span from hydrogen-ready pipelines and a refuelling network in ports and import terminals, to tank storage systems and salt caverns. GCC hydrogen exports to Europe will likely take place via
But risks and challenges remain. For starters, a surge in demand for hydrogen, solar panels, electric vehicles, batteries, and other components critical to the EU’s green transition will increase competition over the raw materials needed to scale up production, such as nickel and platinum. Global suppliers of these raw materials are located mostl
All the other monarchies have launched similar, albeit smaller, tree-planting campaigns. However, environmental experts cast doubt on the feasibility of planting so many trees in such a water-stressed region. They point instead to other promising nature-based solutions such as “mineralisation” – a process that permanently captures (that is, m
Indeed, there is a global shortage of dedicated climate finance frameworks, including in the GCC monarchies. Some promising initial projects include the 2021 Sustainable Finance Framework in the UAE, which has pushed dozens of financial institutions to lend and invest in environmentally sound activities; a 2019 scheme from Oman’s Bank Muscat to e
In the framework of COP28, some EU-UAE engagement has taken place at the level of meetings between senior officials. And European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans, who leads on the European Green Deal, and Kadri Simson, the energy commissioner, took much-anticipated trips to the UAE in January 2023 and Saudi Arabia in March 2023. However,