干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

In the Middle East, in particular in the GCC nations, socio-economic growth and development has been extremely rapid moving the populace forward out of traditional living into that of a developed nation with a lifestyle that equates to energy consumption and commercial consumerism of very high proportions. This is in part, determined by the geophysical conditions of the region, but also by the rapid growth in population and the resultant urbanization. These latter two factors have lead to heightened economic activity and commercialization of products and services. The geophysical conditions can best be described as a harsh, hot and arid desert environment.

In addition, there is a raised standard of living with the accompanying energy demand related to electronic consumerism in each household. The present lifestyle in partnership with present subsidized energy pricing policies has lead to greater energy consumption than experienced in most OECD nations. It is the energy demand and supply that drives the socio-economic development. There is also the water scarcity issue prevalent in all GCC nations that is addressed by the energy intensive process of desalination. As the population continues to grow and living standards continue to improve, the energy demands will also continue to increase at rates that will be unsustainable. Therefore, all the GCC nations are have high energy demands due to the energy intensive societies which are not sustainable in future generations with the current energy resources. The environmental footprint of the individual is exceptionally high, especially in terms of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Therefore, a review of current energy consumption is essential. This information needs to be expressed in everyday language in order raise awareness in the individual and in the community of how we each use and consume vast amounts of energy.

This study provides an overview of the Arab Gulf nations: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in terms of energy production/consumption, electricity consumption and CO2 emissions, especially in terms of rates per capita. These countries are not only globally significant energy producers, they are also leading energy consumers on a per capita basis.