The green economy is defined as the portion of existing economy focusing on sustainable economy with zero carbon emissions where all consumed energy is derived from renewable resources, which are naturally replaced. This detention is in contrast to the traditional black economy which is based on carbon-intensive fossil fuels (petroleum/coal) or yellow economy which supports the economy that generates low carbon emissions in very efficient way. I believe that zero carbon emission is impractical regardless of the source of the energy; hence, I prefer referring to the green economy as per my definition of the yellow-economy especially in hydrocarbon based economies such as OPEC and GCC countries. It should be defined as the portion of the economy focusing on sustainable environmental-friendly energy sources with minimum and efficient carbon emission weather from renewable or conventional energy sources. Such economy includes any investment in sectors supporting this definition such as renewable energy generation, energy efficient transport, energy conservation, energy efficiency improvement, Carbon capture/storage with the objective of preserving the global ecosystems supported by the creation of sustainable governance models, profitable business models for developing, delivering, maintaining and supporting green economy services and products. When you take a quick glance at the global green economy map, we find huge investments (billions of dollars) spent annually in the United States, Western Europe and more recently in China, used to fund several projects to generate clean energy, create service sector, generate laws and regulations, encourage the private sector to invest, and more importantly, establish associated research centers. Comparing these huge investments, to the limited investments by the Third World countries indicates the small size of this economy in the Third World countries, with the exception of limited investments by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar through the establishment of few renewable energy projects. The weak ecosystem and green culture that exist in the Third World countries is the main reason for this low green economy. I believe that it is GCC and OPEC countries' strategic interest to play a major role in the world's green economy map. This strategy should consist of three parallel tracks. The first is to protect their Oil market's share, which is a pivot to their current economy and income. This can be done by improving the current public black image of hydrocarbon as the main source for the global warming and carbon emission. This strategy can be achieved through investing into Research & Development to improve the hydrocarbon-based energy sources burning efficiency and developing mobile and stationary carbon capture and carbon sequestration technologies/projects. The second track is to reduce their daily carbon emission through arresting the current local energy consumption and avoiding unnecessary overproduction. This strategy will also elongate the depletion date of their current hydrocarbon reserves. The third track is to develop long term renewable energy technologies generation and supporting industries. The objective of this strategy is not only to arrest their current unprecedented exponential energy consumption, but also to maintain their current major role as energy exporters and avoid becoming energy importers after the depletion of their conventional hydrocarbon resources. These three tracks will significantly reduce the carbon emersion and support the green economy in these countries. Hence, I believe that major OPEC and GCC countries are still at the beginning of a very long journey. The current few appreciated efforts undertaking by major GCC countries are progressing slowly with very limited green economy governance, services, and infrastructure. GCC countries lack the presence of independent research organizations that can develop new green technologies and generate independent environmental studies supporting the green economy. They also lack the existence of public green economy databases and studies that can be easily referred to for any future studies/projects. There is clear evidence that there is no GCC integrated strategy, no collaborative efforts including unified standards and governance by-laws, research & development, unified prices, accountability process and most importantly market incentives that would promote the private sectors involvement and commitment. Furthermore, the current green economy strategies' impact on GCC country's economy is neither felt nor seen in any previous and current economic studies. Unfortunately, till today, all GCC energy demand is almost 100% met by oil and gas. I admit that there are plans to improve this in UAE, KSA and Qatar; however GCC countries must triple the current green-economy efforts to position themselves in the near future as major players in the global green economy rather than their current role. — Dr. Sami Al-Nuaim is a Saudi writer and can be reached on Twitter: @neaimsa. His articles can be read at www.saudienergy.net
