Can renewable energy become the major source of energy in oil-rich United Arab Emirates?

Amedi, M. (2016) Can renewable energy become the major source of energy in oil-rich United Arab Emirates? Masters by Coursework thesis, Murdoch University.

Abstract

In 2007, the United Arab Emirates ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a response to its position as the second largest producer of GHG emissions in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). By accepting the UNFCCC, the UAE, as a newly industrialised nation, acknowledged the threat of global warming on its own fragile environment. As a direct result of the ratification the UAE developed national and state targets to convert its overreliance on CO2 producing fossil fuels to a diversified energy mix reliant on renewable energy (RE). In response to these energy targets the UAE has initiated a number of large-scale RE solar projects and financed numerous Research and Development (R & D) initiatives. By reinventing itself as a ‘Green Economy’, the UAE is progressing toward a more diversified energy generation mix. Therefore one of the aims of this paper is to examine the success of government policies that foster a continued progression from the UAE’s current oil reliance to Renewable Energy powered future. The other aim is to analyse whether or not the UAE community will accept a transformation from a dependence on oil to RE as a future energy source. The methodology used to evaluate this aim is a qualitative approach, utilising an extensive literature review and a survey involving 20 UAE citizens who live and work in the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The translated, written results from the questionnaire were compared to the literature review and the resulting data analysed. The results of the comparative analysis show that the UAE will not be replacing its fossil fuel generation with a majority RE mix now or in the near future.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters by Coursework)
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Engineering and Information Technology
Supervisor(s):	Whale, Jonathan
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/36707

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