Jul 12 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Ghazanfar Ali Khan Arab News, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia


The Gulf states have been urged to establish an energy center as part of broader initiatives to introduce renewable sources and alternative clean fuels into the regional energy supply system. At the same time, real estate developers in the region are seeking to make their projects as eco-friendly as possible. "This is a good trend," said Stephen Oehme, an expert and director for Hyder Consulting. He said that the real estate sector was conscious of the need to develop eco-friendly projects despite soaring inflation and increasing material costs. He welcomed a very important proposal made by the six-nation Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), which calls for setting up an energy center. The GOIC, with a mandate to promote industrial investment, has called to establish the energy center, saying that initiatives such as these are particularly timely in the wake of renewed international scrutiny of countries' green credentials.

"The need exists for an energy program or center that addresses the issues and brings about sustainable development," said the GOIC report.

"As GCC countries are moving to accession of the Kyoto Protocol on GHG emissions, energy flexibility is to be pursued and further management efforts must be directed towards improving energy efficiency and introducing alternative energy sources," said the report of the Doha-based GOIC.

"These challenges also produce some opportunities with them, the carbon trading business that is now developing is one of the opportunities that the GCC companies can capitalize on and benefit from," said the report.

The GOIC also announced plans to organize a high-profile industrial conference. The three-day event, to be attended by ministers of industry from the six Gulf states and a large number of businessmen from across the world, will be opened on Nov. 22. On the sidelines of the event, an international exhibition featuring subcontracting and partnership will also be staged. Referring to the proposed GCC energy center, the GOIC report cautioned that the prevailing pattern of energy supply, utilization and efficiency are contributing to further resource depletion and increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission.

"The GCC companies should capitalize on carbon trading," said the report. In the short term, extra conservation and energy management activities are to be carried out, while in the medium to long term, renewable resources and alternative clean fuels are to be incorporated into regional energy supply system, the report said.

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