CHAPTER 4
The Rise of Renewables in the Gulf States: Is
the ‘Rentier Effect’ Still Holding Back
the Energy Transition?
Faris Al-Sulayman
Introduction
Ten years ago, one might argue, the story of the rise of renewables in the
Arab Gulf states could have gone in a rather different trajectory. Using
their oil wealth and unrivaled land and solar resources, these states could
have collectively chosen to make a dramatic pivot and become regional
and world leaders in renewables deployment. After all, they began the
twentieth century as global leaders in another energy resource, with
similar investment models. Instead, under the constraints of the rentier
state and perhaps in an effort to avoid actively participating in the climate
emergency narrative, countries in the region are only now beginning
to make inroads into the world of renewables, arguably ceding global
energy leadership to countries with often fewer resources. 1 States such as
F. Al-Sulayman (B)
The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: f.al-sulayman@lse.ac.uk
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
R. Mills and L.-C. Sim (eds.), Low Carbon Energy in the Middle East
and North Africa, International Political Economy Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59554-8_4
93
The Rise of Renewables in the Gulf States: Is
the ‘Rentier Effect’ Still Holding Back
the Energy Transition?
Faris Al-Sulayman
Introduction
Ten years ago, one might argue, the story of the rise of renewables in the
Arab Gulf states could have gone in a rather different trajectory. Using
their oil wealth and unrivaled land and solar resources, these states could
have collectively chosen to make a dramatic pivot and become regional
and world leaders in renewables deployment. After all, they began the
twentieth century as global leaders in another energy resource, with
similar investment models. Instead, under the constraints of the rentier
state and perhaps in an effort to avoid actively participating in the climate
emergency narrative, countries in the region are only now beginning
to make inroads into the world of renewables, arguably ceding global
energy leadership to countries with often fewer resources. 1 States such as
F. Al-Sulayman (B)
The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: f.al-sulayman@lse.ac.uk
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
R. Mills and L.-C. Sim (eds.), Low Carbon Energy in the Middle East
and North Africa, International Political Economy Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59554-8_4
93