Green Gulf Deal

With British Prime Minister Gordon Brown currently in the Middle East to help secure more finance for the IMF to assist in the current banking crisis, a glimmer of good news for the environment has just emerged.

The Gulf States in the Middle East have had substantial financial gains this year, with the rise in oil prices and since 2003 have enjoyed a $1.4 trillion windfall from higher oil prices over the period. Brown met with Ed Miliband, the Climate Change Secretary, in Saudi Arabia yesterday and an announcement is expected that reports oil-rich Gulf states will pledge to invest some of their petrodollar profits in British green energy projects.

This is a great boost for renewable energy projects, and while the Arab states are making more money than ever from oil, it's good to see that they realise the future lies in renewable energy. Miliband has said that cash will "help our firms reap the rewards from going low carbon and providing green energy" to thousands of families under a so-called "green Gulf deal" to be announced today or tomorrow. Already, Abu Dhabi has invested in offshore wind farms around the U.K., and now looks set to be investing even more.