WB: GCC must move towards a low-carbon growth model

WB: GCC must move towards a low-carbon growth model

By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: Kuwait Economic Society (KES) on Wednesday hosted a seminar in partnership with the College of Business Administration at Kuwait University and the World Bank Country office in Kuwait to discuss the World Bank Economic report for the GCC countries (Spring 2022). Issam Abousleiman, World Bank Country Director of the GCC countries, Middle East and North Africa,  said that the World Bank report which was issued under the title of “Achieving Pledges Related to Climate Change” describes the economies of the GCC countries that have succeeded in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic during 2021 and early 2022.

“In this report, we focus particularly on the steps needed to move towards a new low-carbon growth model, including reconsidering energy subsidies and fiscal consolidation, and the importance of obtaining appropriate prices for an enabling environment that can put the private sector at the forefront of the new growth model,” he said.

Abousleiman noted that international pressure due to the war in Ukraine and economic sanctions may lead to additional investments for GCC countries to expand oil and gas production in an additional effort to support the energy security of major importers, particularly the GCC countries with significant spare capacities such as Saudi Arabia