Decarbonizing the GCC: sustainability and life after oil and in GCC countries.

This article examines the critical role of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in addressing climate change through energy transition and decarbonization to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) and global climate targets. It highlights the severe climate risks facing the GCC and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including extreme temperature rises, water scarcity, and threats to habitability, while analyzing the revised 2020 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and national strategies of GCC states. The article discusses the economic and political challenges GCC countries face in reducing reliance on hydrocarbon exports, the paradox of balancing economic diversification with climate action, and the potential benefits of coordinated regional efforts toward renewable energy and emissions reductions. It concludes that accelerated and collective climate action by GCC countries is essential to mitigate catastrophic regional impacts and to fulfill international commitments under the Paris Agreement and SDG7 by 2030.