The Gulf Briefing: As COP27 kicks off in Egypt, ‘collective action or collective suicide’

“As COP27 gets underway, our planet is sending a distress signal,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, an outspoken voice for climate action, using terms usually deemed too undiplomatic. The UN’s climate change summit opened on Sunday under a cloud of crises. Scientists said as different parts of the climate system “begin to break down”, the world is left with “a monumental job of damage limitation.” (Al-Monitor)

“We must answer the planet's distress signals with action,” Guterres added. On Tuesday, the UAE partnered with the United States to mobilize $100 billion to deploy 100 new gigawatts of clean energy by 2035, at home and internationally. The deal will also promote investment in energy transition minerals, nuclear power as clean energy, accelerate investment in fossil fuel emissions mitigation and scale up clean fuels in long-distance transport. (Al-Monitor)

The UAE is already home to some of the world's largest single-site solar plants. In October, Dubai’s solar park hit an operational capacity of 1.8 gigawatts — the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is planned to be a 5 gigawatts site. Last year, the UAE became the first Gulf country to commit to a net zero carbon emissions target and now aims to increase the share of clean energy to 50% of its overall energy mix by 2050. (pv magazine)

Also, Gulf states could play a role in fostering dialogue between "rich nations," historically the world’s top polluters, and "developing nations" whose emissions rise fast. Climate change inequality has pushed countries least responsible for planet-heating emissions to ramp up the pressure on wealthy nations fearful of open-ended climate liability to foot the bill. By 2050, climate change could cost the developing world up to $1.8 trillion annually. (Al-Monitor)