Environmental credentials
The Gulf monarchies rarely conjure an image of being environmentally friendly, given the centrality of hydrocarbons to the region and the various associated heavy industries, most of which rely on abundant fossil fuel. Moreover, the generous public sector salaries, the extensive welfare benefits, and the other trappings of the rentier state also lead to expectations of high consumption lifestyles for many Gulf nationals, including multiple vehicles per household and a heavy reliance on air-conditioning. According to the US Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, the Gulf monarchies now suffer from some of world’s highest per capita carbon dioxide emissions. In 2008 Qatar was the worst ranked country in the world, with 53.5 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per capita. The UAE was the third worst, with 34.6 metric tonnes, while Bahrain was ranked fifth, with 29 metric tonnes. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman were all not far behind, being ranked seventh, thirteenth and fourteenth respectively.[296] Given the rapid development in the region since 2008, especially in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, it is likely that they remain among the world’s worst offenders — perhaps having increased their lead. Waste per capita is also believed to be very high in the Gulf monarchies, with a recent study concluding that Abu Dhabi had one of the highest waste per capita rates in the world — some six times greater than Western European countries.[297] Improvements have been made across the region, but most waste is still thought to be dumped in desert landfill sites. Although vehicles per capita is a less useful measure for the Gulf monarchies, given that the rate for citizens is likely to be much higher than that for expatriates, it is noteworthy that Qatar is now firmly in the world top ten according to World Bank figures, with 724 vehicles per thousand residents, while Bahrain and Kuwait are close behind.[298]
Nevertheless, despite the region’s poor track record, protection of the environment has recently become a high profile policy in some Gulf monarchies. The UAE and Qatar governments in particular have transformed what was previously a liability for their regional and international reputations into something of a strength. A plethora of projects, institutions, new government departments, and other initiatives have been announced — most of which aim not only to remedy their domestic environmental crises, but also to promote international research and development into cleaner energy and other environmental clauses.[299] In much the same way that wealth distribution strategies to citizens and funding of religious establishments have been closely associated with key members of the ruling families, the same has often been true with these environmental projects. The state-backed media have provided extensive coverage, often publicly linking a specific ruling family member to a development, thus winning him or her favourable domestic headlines. It has also been a policy area which has largely attracted favourable international coverage, with many of the articles being republished for domestic readers.
The new Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute for example falls directly under the umbrella of the ruler’s wife. Aiming to ‘mitigate climate change and contaminants harmful to the environment’ and focusing on ‘Qatar’s desert and marine ecologies, plant and animal life, and air quality’, it is well financed and has thus far been lauded by the domestic media[300] and further afield. A recent RAND Corporation publication focusing on the institute, for example, begins by stating that ‘Qatar’s leadership has created a vision of sustainability for the country’.[301] More extensively, Abu Dhabi has set up the new Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) and recently commissioned the Stockholm Environmental Institute in Sweden to formulate a rigorous climate policy for the emirate.[302] Since 2009 there has also been the Zayed Future Energy Prize which now presents winning companies or government departments with prizes of over $4 million.[303] All photographs displayed on the prize’s official website feature the crown prince in the centre of groups of high profile international dignitaries, while all text descriptions of the prize refer to the ‘legacy of Sheikh Zayed’.[304] But by far the most high profile environment-related initiative in the region has been Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City. Being built by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC), which is a subsidiary of the crown prince’s Mubadala Development Company, the plan has been to create a large carbon-neutral development in the emirate’s hinterland. The broader aim is for Masdar to provide the infrastructure for a free zone that will allow up to 1,500 renewable energy and other environment-related international companies to base themselves in Abu Dhabi, or at least have their regional headquarters there. Some of these will be focused on carbon capture technologies and it is expected that they will export their services to nearby countries still relying on outdated hydrocarbon extraction technologies.[305] ADFEC is also hoping to attract research and development focused companies to Masdar in an effort to make Abu Dhabi the region’s capital for green technologies.[306] Similarly, Mubadala’s investment in the Finnish company WinWinD is likely to lead to a wind power joint venture in Masdar.[307] In support of all these companies is a new research centre — the Masdar Institute — and several leading international research bodies are already operating there.[308] Again, there has been extensive coverage by the domestic media, and although there has been some criticism of Masdar in the international media, Mubadala and the crown prince have generally benefited from ADFEC’s overall aims.
3
EXPLAINING SURVIVAL — EXTERNAL MATTERS
In parallel to their domestic ruling bargains, there also exist several strategies aimed at securing the survival and raising the status of the Gulf monarchies in the region and internationally. For many years the priority was building strong links with the rest of the Arab world, especially Palestine and those Arab states that refused to acknowledge Israel. This had the twin aims of satisfying pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli sentiments in their own populations while also allowing the ruling families to sit more comfortably alongside Arab nationalist governments. More recently, and especially since Kuwait’s invasion by Iraq and subsequent liberation by a US-led force in 1991, the priority has been gaining influence and good standing in those states perceived as the most reliable security guarantors — namely the Western powers. Rising tensions with Iran, and a seeming impasse over its developing nuclear programme, have meant that such Western-centric efforts have continued to intensify. But there is now also the added dimension of seeking improved relations with the Eastern powers, including China, which have not only become key trading partners but may also soon offer alternative security guarantees. A third, but interconnected priority for the Gulf monarchies has been the need to forge good relations with other Muslim states and communities, including those far beyond the Arab world. Complimenting their efforts at boosting Islamic credentials and heading off domestic Islamist opposition, this strategy is also intended to deflect and counter external Islamist extremist aggression — a threat which became particularly acute following 9/11 and the subsequent al-Qaeda campaign in Saudi Arabia.[309]
296
75. According to data supplied by the US Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.
299
78. For a full discussion see Luomi, Mari,
301
80. See Kalra, Nidhi,
309
1. For the most comprehensive analysis of this ‘Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula’ campaign see Hegghammer, Thomas,