Challenges towards renewable energy: an exploratory study from the Arabian Gulf region

Considering the importance of energy for social and economic development, access to clean, affordable and reliable energy has been adopted as one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals which all countries aim to achieve by 2030. Due to environmental and climatic impact, conventional energy resources (oil, gas, and coal) are recognized as a major contributor to CO2 emission and thus become the main cause of global warming. Much of the world energy is still, however, produced from fossil fuels and thus the progress towards clean and renewable energy is considerably slow. This article aims to explore the key challenges towards renewable energy in GCC countries-blessed with plenty of oil and gas reserves. The key challenges identified through the literature review were ranked using a quantitative approach through the data collected from a selective sample (N = 87) across the six GCC countries. These challenges as per their ranking are (i) Policies and Regulations, (ii) Manpower Experience and Competencies (iii) Renewable Energy Education (iv) Public Awareness (v) Costs and Incentive for Renewable Energy (vi) Government Commitment. The finding of this article could be helpful to decision-makers and government organizations in the region to develop strategies to overcome these identified challenges.