The Gulf Business Environment Introduction The most recent activity of the U

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The Gulf Business Environment

Introduction

The most recent activity of the U.N Climate change negotiations was set in Doha, Qatar. It was a ten day conference. Most people had low expectations about the outcome. Yet, that does not imply that the meeting and negotiations cannot be helpful. Besides getting closer to Kyoto 2.0, Doha, Qatar provides the globe with a case study that showcases the way not to deal with climate change. For many individuals, this might sound harsh since the contribution of Qatar to global warming is miniature relative to other countries such as China and the United States. However, while its population and geography reduces its overall carbon footprint, it is imperative to note that Qatar as a country is still remarkably inefficient when it comes to the utilization of natural resources thanks to its growing oil-fuelled wealth and dessert climate.

The Implication of Climate Change on Qatar

From a distance, the ultra modern metropolis in Qatar appear as mirages in the shimmering sunshine. Most cities such as Doha are an architecture of ambition and feats of increasing contemporary engineering that has been made possible with the assistance of vast gas and oil revenues. Yet, it is imperative to note that the extensive scale of exporting these products has also come at a cost. The implications of emissions-fuelled climate change have made Qatar business environment unbearable and an inhospitable terrain for most businesses (Al-Maamary, Kazem, and Chaichan, 2017a, p. 555). Moreover, some of the areas in Qatar are less suitable for human habitation. In simple terms, within a few decades, it is believed that most of the cities in Qatar would be exposed to extreme climatic conditions something that is not good for business operations.

Air conditioning would be necessary during extreme heat scenarios even when someone is conducting their business errands as usual. However, what this implies is that temperatures can worsen in a few years to come if nothing is done to the factors causing climate change (Al-Saidi, Mohammad, and Awartani, 2018, 2). It will reach a point where even walking or sitting outside the house or a room would not be highly recommended without the necessary precautions in place (Al-Maamary et al., 2017a, 555). For this reason, in Qatar, during the summer, business meetings would take place indoors even at night. The extreme heatwaves and bodily harm due to high temperatures might hamper or demoralize individuals from stepping and walking outdoors. As such, most employees in many companies would be required to resort to hats and cooling clothes as a short-term solution to heatwaves to help in preserving their wellbeing (Al-Maamary et al., 2017a, 560).

Lastly, due to the increasing heatwaves in Qatar as a result of climate change, construction projects during the summer may no longer be viable due to the adverse weather conditions caused by climate change. In simple terms, work will be challenging to complete and productivity in most business organisations will reduce (Al-Maamary, Kazem, and Chaichan, 2017b, 18). In essence, commuting will also be a challenge and in the process, it will impact both the public and private sector adversely. Moreover, walking to and from an individual’s vehicle would not be advisable.

The Implication of Qatar’s Climate Change on UAE business environment

Qatar sits at the epicentre of the world’s extensive oil-producing region around the globe. Qatar is a leading member of OPEC, an organisation that remains influential among oil-producing countries around the globe (Al-Maamary et al., 2017b, 12). When Qatar was chosen as the host country of the United Nations negotiations for climate change, it is imperative to note that a growing number of environmentalists were stunned. Even though talks about this issue were already doubtful and more surprising, moving negotiations to a country that was vocal and had shown little interest on the matter of climate change is an indicator that Qatar has had a change of heart (Al-Maamary et al., 2017a, 60). For this reason, it is easier to understand why the current climate change in Qatar can have a negative implication on the other countries in the GCC region.

The GCC countries experience a growing number of climate change challenges such as water scarcity, desertification, bio-diversity loss and the rise of the sea level. Most countries in this region are characterised by extremely high temperatures and arid lands; high humidity resulting in land damage and seriously degraded soil. Moreover, there is also high soil intrusion in acquifiers that is impacting many small-scale agricultural fields (Al-Maamary et al., 2017a, 562). In doing so, it increases the threat of food security. Most of these geographical risks and threats due to climate change have activated and increased the participation of most GCC countries in international business negotiations. For instance, if rain only pours for a few days in GCC, life remains at a stand still and many activities fail to materialize (Al-Maamary et al., 2017b, 18). Therefore, the prospect of climate change is a worrying issue and most of the countries in the GCC are working together to ensure that it is translated into action (Al-Saidi et al., 2018, 7).

The increasing employment of non-renewable water is a primary factor in depleting ground water reserves in a number of countries within the GCC. In the process, it puts them at a severe risk of having devastating implications as a result of climate change. For instance, water supply in Saudi Arabia is obtained from desalinated water, deep fossil aquifers, reclaimed wastewater, and surface water (Al-Saidi et al., 2018, 2). The depletion of Bahrain’s ground water due to the increase in urbanization has resulted to the depletion of fresh water springs in most countries in GCC. Such issues have led to a reduction in fertile lands that the region was once famous for (Al-Maamary et al., 2017a, 562). Likewise, Qatar heavily depends on energy-intensive desalination plants to produce fresh water, an aspect which increases the demand for electricity in the region. Therefore, since Qatar depends on desalination plants to produce fresh water, the issue of climate change has made the country to resort to more energy intensive measures that are set up at a high cost to the environment.

The climate change in Qatar has made the Middle East to be vulnerable to increasing conflicts and tensions caused by spiking prices of foods. In other words, putting new land to productive use is not something that is easy because of water shortage and the nature of terrain. For instance, in some countries such as Saudi Arabia, only around two percent of its vast land are arable when modern farming and irrigation is applied (Al-Maamary et al., 2017b, 13). Faced with an increasing population, the GCC region is grappling with the realisation that its dwindling nature might not be enough to feed its people. For instance, the deterioration of coral habitats in Qatar has led to the loss of livelihoods of a number of individuals in its neighbouring countries that depend on fishing as their main source of income (Al-Maamary et al., 2017a, 562). In Bahrain, there is loss of agricultural land due to climate change. An increase in the sea level by one meter is also likely to cover around 11% of the arable land. Such issues coupled with the long-standing reluctance of Qatar to adopt the climate change control act may play a negative implication on the economy of the GCC region.

Environmental Business Model

The business model environment of the GCC and Qatar can be explained using four primary areas namely the industry forces, market forces, key trends and macro economic trends.

Market Forces: In Qatar and the middle East, the primary issues affecting customers as a result of climate change revolve around switching costs, shrinking segments, pains and changing jobs due to rising heatwaves. Qatar ranks as a top country around the globe in per-capita carbon dioxide emissions which is one of the renowned greenhouse gases that plays a crucial role in climate change. Additionally, Qatar on an average employs 2.5 times more energy relative to their counterparts the United States and 7.6 times more when compared with a country such as China. In fact, most of its citizens possess very little incentives when it comes to conservation of energy since the country is responsible for providing them with free electricity. For this reason, most of the customers in Qatar have failed to deal with the issue of climate change hence forcing them to resort to other measures that are impacting the business environment negatively.

Key trends: Some of the primary trends shaping businesses in the GCC and Qatar revolve around technology, social trends, and regulatory constraints. Besides the free electricity, Qatar citizens also get free services such as water and that is not something small, especially given that Qatar does not have water or rivers. For this reason, any beverage company or water supply company in the region may incur challenges penetrating into the market. Besides tapping aquifers, the country depends on energy-intensive desalination plants that are responsible for its fresh waters, which in the process drives and increases the demand for electricity something that is defining the entry and exit of business organisations in the Qatar market.

Industry Forces: In the GCC, most industries rely on the vast oil resources that are prevalent in the region. Most countries are members of OPEC and this implies that the current climate change in the region is threatening their oil production lines. Apart from the extensive oil resources in the region, Qatar also possesses over 15% of the proven natural gases on earth and the government is purposing to explore unconventional sources such as shale gas (Al-Maamary et al., 2017b, 15).

Macro-economic Forces: The global market conditions are being affected by the current climate change in the region. The effects of climate change are affecting the accessibility of resources in this region something that is also affecting the prices of commodities. Extreme temperatures and heatwaves is making it difficult to access and get raw materials in the region.

Suggestions and Recommendations

Desertification in Qatar and the GCC region is slowly increasing which is placing man made urban environments at extensive risk. Some of the local bio-diversity, which is no longer existing in most parts of Qatar, will soon disappear and not even marine life would be excused from the rages of the heatwaves and the changing patterns of weather (Al-Maamary et al., 2017b, 18). Therefore, a growing number of businesses in Qatar need to invest heavily in solar power in an effort meant to harness energy naturally from the rays of the sun that are prevalent in the country. For this reason, an increased share of solar power among businesses and organizations in Qatar and the GCC will help in curbing the increasing carbon footprint. In fact, Qatar is leading the way as evidenced by the sustanability practices in the wake of winning the rights to host the 2020 world cup (Al-Maamary et al., 2017b, 18). It is intending to ensure that sustainability is witnessed during the event. The country is attempting to create a recyclable stadium that can be moved or reconstructed for other purposes something that should be embraced in most business models in the GCC region.

Conclusion

Qatar and the UAE have developed into one of the major players in the MENA region. A limited number of individuals would have expected such transformation about two decades ago. However, Qatar has won the ancient assertion that small and developing states exert more influential role relative to what their size suggests. In an era where global order is defined more by complexity and multifaceted governance interfaces as opposed to unipolarity and hierarchy, it is imperative to note that an extensive number of options are present for small countries such as Qatar in the business environment. Above all, just like many other emerging countries, Qatar does not possess any specific obligation to deal with its carbon emission. It has not yet provided any voluntary emissions objectives and goals. Currently, zero percent of its energy is generated from renewable sources. Yet, despite these foibles, simply categorizing Qatar as a serious eco-villain would not be right. Its standing as an environmental steward around the globe is complicated by a number of noteworthy issues. Therefore, the GCC region needs support in their fight to combat climate change.