​If we want to maintain our world as a liveable place, we must do what we can to stop climate change. That’s why 196 countries have signed the Paris Agreement – amongst them all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and all European Union countries. We are tackling its implementation with different plans, from “Vision 2030” or “Vision 2035″ in the GCC countries to the so-called “Green Deal” in the European Union.

At the EXPO 2020 in Dubai, I spoke about the Green Deal and what it means for the relation between the EU and GCC countries. After all, the dependency of GCC economies on fossil is still huge; e.g. for Oman it is 76%, for Saudi Arabia 69% and for the UAE 52% of total government revenue (2015-2018 average).

We can only achieve our global ambitions if GCC countries and other oil exporters move towards fossil free technologies. On the other hand, especially countries with high energy demands – mainly due to their industries – need green energy as their main source. That is exactly where EU and GCC cooperation comes in. Learn more in my speech.