The UAE and fellow countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) owe their economic
development and prosperity to fossil fuels. At the same time, they are highly vulnerable to
climate change and have recognised that change is needed. Recently, we have seen increasingly
ambitious renewable energy targets across the region, as well as net-zero targets in five out of
six GCC states. This report, which updates IRENA’s 2019 analysis, provides a broad overview of drivers and
developments in the renewable energy sector across the region. It highlights how the region’s
renewable power capacity has increased rapidly to more than 5.6 gigawatts in 2022 from close
to zero only a decade earlier. However, renewables still only account for a negligible amount of
the region’s total electricity generation capacity, while end-uses continue to rely on fossil fuels.
More action to translate ambitious targets into delivery on the ground is therefore needed.
Authors
- Published in
- United Arab Emirates
