Renewables: Mideast Gulf states' actions yet to match words

Mideast Gulf states have been bold in their rhetoric on plans to tackle global warming by developing renewable energy

But tangible results have been thin on the ground in a region producing some of the world's highest per-capita carbon emissions, writes Ian Lewis. The UAE's Masdar initiative is the Gulf's showpiece scheme, but even that is unlikely to make much of a dent in emissions from the Emirates over the next decade (PE 9/10 p22) – and there is a similar picture elsewhere in the Gulf region, despite optimistic noises at high levels. Saudi Aramco said earlier this year that Saudi Arabia, the region's biggest economy, wants to make renewable energy a key part of its overall energy mix. The idea is that renewables would contribute 7-10% of peak electricity by 2020, as part of an $80bn investment to boos