GCC Sustainability Scorecard
Sustainability is the defining policy tension of the Gulf. The world’s leading hydrocarbon-exporting nations must simultaneously fuel global energy markets and respond to climate imperatives that threaten long-term demand for their core exports. This scorecard benchmarks Qatar and its GCC peers across renewable energy, emissions, water, and environmental governance — the dimensions that will determine whether Gulf states can credibly position themselves as sustainable economies.
Emissions and Energy Profile
| Emissions Metric | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | UAE | Kuwait | Bahrain | Oman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO2 emissions (total, MT) | ~110 | ~590 | ~210 | ~105 | ~37 | ~75 |
| CO2 per capita (tonnes) | ~38 | ~16 | ~21 | ~24 | ~23 | ~15 |
| Emissions intensity (kg CO2/$ GDP) | ~0.45 | ~0.54 | ~0.40 | ~0.64 | ~0.84 | ~0.65 |
| Methane emissions (energy sector) | Moderate (reduction pledged) | Significant | Moderate | Significant | Moderate | Moderate |
| Net zero target | Not formally declared | 2060 | 2050 | Not declared | 2060 | 2050 |
| NDC Paris commitment | 25% by 2030 | 278 MT reduction by 2030 | 31% by 2030 | N/A | N/A | 7% by 2030 |
Note: Qatar (first data column, bold) is the focus country throughout this scorecard.
Qatar’s per-capita CO2 emissions are among the highest in the world — a function of the country’s small population, energy-intensive LNG production, desalination requirements, and extreme climate that drives high electricity consumption for cooling. However, emissions intensity per unit of GDP is moderate by GCC standards, reflecting the efficiency of Qatar’s economic output relative to energy consumption. QatarEnergy’s commitment to reduce upstream emissions intensity by 25% by 2030 and to deploy carbon capture at the North Field Expansion project represents the most significant corporate emissions reduction initiative in the Qatari economy.
Renewable Energy Deployment
| Renewable Energy Metric | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | UAE | Kuwait | Bahrain | Oman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable energy target | ~5 GW solar by 2030 | ~58.7 GW by 2030 | ~14.2 GW by 2030 | ~15% electricity by 2030 | ~5% by 2025 | ~30% by 2030 |
| Current RE capacity (GW) | ~0.8 | ~3.5 | ~5.5 | ~0.07 | ~0.005 | ~1.5 |
| Flagship RE project | Al Kharsaah (800 MW solar) | Sudair Solar (1.5 GW) | Al Dhafra Solar (2 GW) | Shagaya Renewable Complex | Planned projects | Ibri II Solar (500 MW) |
| Solar irradiation (kWh/m2/year) | ~2,100 | ~2,200 | ~2,000 | ~2,100 | ~2,000 | ~2,200 |
| Green hydrogen strategy | Blue hydrogen focus | Green + blue hydrogen | Green hydrogen (Masdar) | Emerging | Not formalised | Green hydrogen (major) |
| RE investment (2024 est., $ bn) | ~$1.5 | ~$10 | ~$5** | ~$0.5 | ~$0.1 | ~$3 |
Qatar’s renewable energy development is in its early acceleration phase. The Al Kharsaah solar power plant — an 800 MW facility developed by Siraj Energy (a joint venture between QatarEnergy and Qatar Electricity and Water Company) with TotalEnergies and Marubeni — was the country’s first utility-scale solar project. Additional solar capacity targeting 5 GW by 2030 is planned to support the FIFA World Cup 2022 sustainability legacy and reduce the carbon intensity of electricity generation.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE lead the GCC in renewable energy ambition and deployment. Saudi Arabia’s target of 58.7 GW of renewable capacity by 2030 — if achieved — would represent the most rapid renewable buildout in the Middle East. The UAE’s Al Dhafra Solar plant (2 GW) is one of the world’s largest single-site solar facilities, and Masdar — Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company — operates as the GCC’s most active renewable energy developer globally.
Water Sustainability
| Water Metric | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | UAE | Kuwait | Bahrain | Oman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water stress level | Extremely high | Extremely high | Extremely high | Extremely high | Extremely high | High |
| Desalination dependency | ~60% | ~60% | ~42% | ~90%** | ~75% | ~50% |
| Per capita water consumption (L/day) | ~430 | ~280 | ~360 | ~450 | ~300 | ~150 |
| Treated wastewater reuse | ~78% | ~25% | ~85%** | ~55% | ~40% | ~35% |
| Groundwater depletion rate | Severe | Critical | Severe | Severe | Critical | Moderate |
| Water tariff reform | Progressive | Underway | Progressive | Subsidised | Moderate | Progressive |
Water sustainability is an existential challenge across the GCC. All six states operate in extremely water-stressed environments, with per-capita water consumption rates among the highest in the world. Qatar has made significant progress in treated wastewater reuse, achieving approximately 78% reuse rate — one of the highest in the region — primarily for landscaping and district cooling applications. The country’s per-capita water consumption remains high, reflecting residential and commercial demand patterns that require continued conservation policy development.
Sustainability Scorecard (1-5 Scale)
| Dimension | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | UAE | Kuwait | Bahrain | Oman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable energy progress | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Emissions reduction policy | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Water management | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Environmental governance | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Circular economy adoption | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Climate finance/investment | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Composite Score | 3.2 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.8 |
Climate Policy and Governance
Qatar has engaged with the UNFCCC process and submitted Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement. The country has not declared a formal net-zero target date — a notable distinction from Saudi Arabia (2060), the UAE (2050), and Oman (2050). However, Qatar’s lower-carbon primary export (natural gas versus crude oil) provides an inherent transition advantage that may reduce the urgency for a formal net-zero declaration relative to oil-exporting peers.
The UAE has positioned itself as the GCC’s climate policy leader, hosting COP28 in 2023 and leveraging the event to advance the Global Stocktake, the Loss and Damage fund, and the Alterra climate finance initiative ($30 billion target). Abu Dhabi’s International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) headquarters further cements the UAE’s climate diplomacy position.
Green and Blue Hydrogen
Hydrogen is emerging as the GCC’s next potential energy export commodity. Qatar’s hydrogen strategy centres on blue hydrogen — produced from natural gas with carbon capture — leveraging the existing LNG value chain. QatarEnergy’s blue hydrogen production pathway is commercially logical given the country’s gas resource base.
Oman has emerged as the GCC’s most ambitious green hydrogen aspirant, with plans for large-scale electrolyser capacity powered by solar and wind in the southern Dhofar and Al Wusta regions. Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Helios project targets commercial-scale green hydrogen production. The UAE’s Masdar has invested in hydrogen projects across multiple geographies.
Key Findings
First, the GCC’s sustainability challenge is structurally different from other regions. These nations must manage the tension between being the world’s leading energy exporters and addressing domestic environmental pressures. Judging GCC sustainability by European standards misses this fundamental context.
Second, per-capita metrics distort rankings. Qatar’s high per-capita emissions are a mathematical function of its tiny population and energy-intensive economy, not an indicator of policy failure. Emissions intensity per unit of GDP provides a more analytically useful comparison.
Third, water is the most critical sustainability challenge across the GCC. Every member state faces extreme water stress, and the energy intensity of desalination creates a circular dependency between water security and carbon emissions that does not have an easy resolution.
Outlook
Sustainability will increasingly define the international reputation and investor attractiveness of GCC states. Qatar’s path to sustainability credibility runs through methane reduction in LNG production, renewable energy scaling, and continued leadership in wastewater reuse. Across the GCC, the states that most effectively integrate sustainability into their economic models — rather than treating it as a separate policy silo — will be best positioned for the coming decades.