Promoting environmental integration among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries may seem to be a low priority issue in political exchanges, but it is actually an incentive and tool for fostering better GCC relations, as it would enable the pooling of efforts and resources of all stakeholders to accelerate the search for solutions to common environmental problems.

Regional integration is a process in which states enter into an agreement in order to enhance cooperation through regional institutions and rules. The building of environmental programs is an important component of any regional integration initiative.

If the GCC countries wish to develop an integrated regional space in terms of politics, economy, society, culture, energy and infrastructure that may lead to a more structured form of GCC unity, emphasis on the environment is a prerequisite. This is due to the following reasons:

• Environmental issues are integral to all of the previously mentioned issues, from energy to economy, and even security and political issues are influenced by them; and

• They are an integral part of sectoral plans, strategies, and policies, such as energy policy and agriculture policy, within a country and in regional plans and policies.

As a result, we find that the greater the environmental integration among countries, the easier and faster is the potential for economic and political unity.

The GCC countries have not forgotten environmental issues in their quest for closer cooperation. However, one must admit that political and economic issues have received most of the attention.

The GCC initiative includes adoption by the Supreme GCC Council at its 6th session held in Muscat in 1985 of “the policies and general principles for the protection of the environment.” This is considered the strategic framework for joint environmental action and the basis for future environmental work among the GCC countries.

Other efforts include the establishment of a GCC environmental media and awareness committee, the convening of numerous GCC environmental conferences, and the holding of Gulf environmental awareness weeks.

The establishment of the GCC power grid is one of the most important common projects benefitting all countries associated with it. In addition to being able to draw on excess power during periods of emergency, the grid lays the foundation for a common GCC energy market. It enables power plants to be built at the most suitable sites and, as a result, avoids and/or reduces the overall level of environmental pollution in the region. In addition, connecting national networks provides a basis for integration in other aspects such as renewables, railways, customs and markets.

Moreover, due to its strategic location, the GCC grid system could be expanded to trade energy not only within the GCC but also with other interconnected regions like North Africa, Europe and Asia especially India.

The GCC countries have seen their economies grow and diversify tremendously in the last decade. Yet, as these economies have grown, environmental challenges and issues have grown as well. Thus full environmental integration (i.e., on positions, policies, institutions, regulations, and projects) should be seen as mandatory. Otherwise, the GCC countries risk losing what has been achieved and may eventually have to scale back on their development and quality of life. Natural resources are increasingly scarce and under pressure in the region. The way to counteract this is to move towards the creation of a Green Economy with integration at its heart.

Here, the GCC can look at other examples such as the experience of the European Union when it comes to regional environmental integration. Since the early 1970s, Europe has been firmly committed to the environment including the protection of air and water quality, conservation of resources, protection of biodiversity and waste management. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the EU has developed a program of action that will not only guide European environment policy until 2020 but will also set out a more long-term direction of where the EU wants to be by 2050.

The GCC countries thus need to move beyond economics and politics and into another realm: Environment and renewables. Cooperation in this area would be a win-win situation for the region’s countries and eventually strengthen economic and political relations. Better cooperation will also create numerous business opportunities as well as help tackle issues such as climate change, the food crisis, energy crisis, and desertification.

In fact, cooperation in renewable energy, especially solar power, is essential to develop a sustainable energy mix for the GCC countries in order to meet their growing energy demands. In addition, establishing an industrial hub for renewables would grant the GCC region a competitive advantage and guarantee the development of low carbon economies that address the negative impacts of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as contribute to local job creation.

n The writer is a research fellow in the Environmental Research Program of the Gulf Research Center.