Feeling the Heat: Gulf States and Climate Shifts

Across the MENA region, environmental challenges are rising, but the six Gulf Arab states—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain—are feeling the impact the most. With economies built on oil and gas, they’re now on the frontlines of climate change. COP28 in Dubai last year called for urgent action, but what are Gulf countries actually doing? How are they tackling climate risks while trying to diversify their economies? In our 34th episode, we spoke to Aisha Al-Sarihi. She is a Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore. She is also a Research Associate at Chatham House, and a Non-Resident Fellow the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.  Her research focuses on political economy, geopolitics, policy and governance of energy transition, climate and environment, with a focus on the Middle East and Southeast Asia.  In this episode, we covered several topics including A deep dive into Gulf states' energy commitments and net-zero policies The importance of deploying capital for climate projects The challenges in mitigating climate risks in economic diversification