300 M. LUOMI
discernible differences in policy choices adopted by oil exporters versus
non-oil-exporting Arab countries, and what explains these differences—
the rentier paradigm, leadership agency or something else? And third,
is a convergence of domestic rhetoric, domestic policy and international
policy positions on the horizon for the region and its countries?
In order to answer these questions, the chapter compares four Arab
countries that have been active in either domestic or international climate
change policy, or both. Two are net oil exporters and classifiable as rentier
economies: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The other
two are net oil importers and have the largest renewable energy capacity
among the Arab countries: Egypt and Morocco.
Changes and Continuities
Arab countries have come a long way in domestic climate change policy
over the past decade. A 2009 report by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development concluded that ‘virtually no work is being carried
out to make the Arab countries prepared for climate change challenges’. 1
The report found a near-absence of records of climate patterns and a
dearth of systematic data gathering and research on both physical and
socioeconomic impacts of climate change climate change.
Since then, a lot has changed. Scientific understanding of physical
vulnerabilities has improved 2 and, at the time of writing, in early 2020,
18 out of the 22 countries had ratified the Paris Agreement and developed related medium-term climate change plans. Despite vastly different
socioeconomic profiles, many have in place domestic renewable energy
targets and demonstrate at least some level of policy development in
the two key areas of climate action, mitigation (emission reductions)
and adaptation. Some are in the process of developing long-term lowemissions strategies or climate change laws.
At the same time, the Arab Group’s positions in the United Nations
(UN) climate change negotiations seem to have remained remarkably
stable. In 2009, environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
described Arab countries in the UN negotiations as being mainly ‘focused
on protecting oil exports rather than preserving the planet’. They accused
Saudi Arabia for ‘using its political weight in the region as well as divisions
among other Arab governments to push through its interests’. 3
A decade later, at the 2018 UN climate conference, it seemed much
had not changed: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, along with two other major
discernible differences in policy choices adopted by oil exporters versus
non-oil-exporting Arab countries, and what explains these differences—
the rentier paradigm, leadership agency or something else? And third,
is a convergence of domestic rhetoric, domestic policy and international
policy positions on the horizon for the region and its countries?
In order to answer these questions, the chapter compares four Arab
countries that have been active in either domestic or international climate
change policy, or both. Two are net oil exporters and classifiable as rentier
economies: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The other
two are net oil importers and have the largest renewable energy capacity
among the Arab countries: Egypt and Morocco.
Changes and Continuities
Arab countries have come a long way in domestic climate change policy
over the past decade. A 2009 report by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development concluded that ‘virtually no work is being carried
out to make the Arab countries prepared for climate change challenges’. 1
The report found a near-absence of records of climate patterns and a
dearth of systematic data gathering and research on both physical and
socioeconomic impacts of climate change climate change.
Since then, a lot has changed. Scientific understanding of physical
vulnerabilities has improved 2 and, at the time of writing, in early 2020,
18 out of the 22 countries had ratified the Paris Agreement and developed related medium-term climate change plans. Despite vastly different
socioeconomic profiles, many have in place domestic renewable energy
targets and demonstrate at least some level of policy development in
the two key areas of climate action, mitigation (emission reductions)
and adaptation. Some are in the process of developing long-term lowemissions strategies or climate change laws.
At the same time, the Arab Group’s positions in the United Nations
(UN) climate change negotiations seem to have remained remarkably
stable. In 2009, environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
described Arab countries in the UN negotiations as being mainly ‘focused
on protecting oil exports rather than preserving the planet’. They accused
Saudi Arabia for ‘using its political weight in the region as well as divisions
among other Arab governments to push through its interests’. 3
A decade later, at the 2018 UN climate conference, it seemed much
had not changed: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, along with two other major