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Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states have abounded underground fossil fuel resources and high potentials for renewable energy (RE). However, given the Peak Oil Theory and the international climate change regulations and protocols, investments in RE became a first-class candidate. The current conceptualized study investigates barriers, risk, and opportunities associated with the transition to RE generation in member states of GCC. The study deploys secondary data extracted from published statistics and related literature. Via an interpretive, exploratory and explanatory approach, we conclude that there is a long-term need to expand uptake of RE technologies in order to meet the possible medium to long-terms energy and economic securities. Bureaucratic inefficiency and fuel subsidies along with absence of both suitable investment framework and supporting energy policies for investments in RE were found to be significant barriers to RE deployment in the GCC states. The current paper argues that the GCC has a specific climate advantage for RE. Therefore, if RE options are utilised ideally by the GCC member states they can play a significant role in substituting conventional energy sources and in sustaining energy and economic securities of the GCC member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few decades, the debate about “Peak Oil” became increasingly common and frustrating to governments, oil companies, and individuals. Also in the last decade or so, some unusual events took place which have raised the concern about the future of energy resources. These events lead policy makers to consider what is known today as “Energy Security.” The UK is one of these countries that fears the unknown future should petroleum resources worldwide become scarce or vanish. After the dwindling of the North Sea production, the UK found itself on the brink of losing its energy self-sufficiency. This article asks the questions: Has the UK’s oil and gas production peaked yet? If so, does the UK have a serious energy security problem, and if so, how may this problem be solved and what are the possible short, medium, and long-term solutions for such a concern? In answering these questions, the article discusses the concerns and challenges to the UK energy security and brings about the government plans for tackling these concerns. It is found that the UK does not experience an energy security problem on the short to medium-term, but it may suffer energy insecurity on the longer-term. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]