The paper assesses the strengths and weaknesses of renewable energy (RE) initiatives in Oman. The principal analytical tool is strategic niche management, an approach rooted in evolutionary innovations theory. The analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of RE initiatives is based on three internal dynamic processes: learning processes, actors' networking, and articulation of visions. This study draws upon secondary data and primary information collected from interviews, with stakeholders representing five selected RE initiatives in Oman. The findings indicate that RE initiatives, if managed properly, can drive large-scale implementation of RE in Oman. There are signs that the networks of actors, although small, are growing. Expectations, although fragmented, are high, positive and diverse. Learning processes do exist but are limited, narrowly techno-economic, and do not encompass social and institutional aspects surrounding new technologies. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to overcome weaknesses observed in studied renewable energy initiatives.

In the context of international climate change obligations, Gulf Arab states have introduced policies to integrate climate policies into economic development and planning, seeking to maximise clean development opportunities yet at the same time to minimise the threats to their rentier economies caused by sudden shifts away from fossil fuels. This paper assesses the challenges and opportunities for climate policy integration in the Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, examining the interaction between their climate policy and their political-economic regimes. It adopts a novel analytical framework that integrates insights from climate policy integration and the political-economic theory of rentier states. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and relevant policy documents, it reveals modest progress in integrating climate policy into economic development plans in the UAE but major impediments to climate policy integration in Oman. Both countries face significant shortfalls in climate-related financial and human resource capacities. Climate policy integration efforts have focused on the energy sector with the purpose of protecting rents from oil exports rather than advancing a low-carbon transformation of their economies. This has created structural ambiguity in the climate policy integration advanced in the UAE and Oman. Key policy insights The availability, quality and accessibility of climate-related data are serious challenges for policy makers in the UAE and Oman. Both countries have evolving institutional architectures conducive to climate policy integration.However, these are more symbolic than substantive, lacking clear policy integration strategies across the governments. The UAE and Oman both face significant shortfalls in climate-related financial and human resource capacities. Support for climate policy integration by the ruling elites in the UAE and Oman is significantly shaped by rentier interests: most climate-related initiatives have addressed the energy sector, aiming to protect rents from oil exports by reducing the domestic dependence on fossil fuels.

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The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—hold almost 30% of the world’s total proven oil reserves and around 20% of its total proven natural gas reserves. They are also endowed with a high abundance of renewable energy resources such as solar and wind. Yet, the GCC’s primary energy consumption is still dominated by fossil fuels, and the share of renewable energy still does not exceed 1%. Drawing on secondary data, including journal articles, governmental and companies’ websites, and reports and newspaper articles, this paper assesses the reasons behind their underutilization of renewable energy resources. Whereas technical and economic feasibility issues had been identified as the main barriers to slow the uptake of renewable energy technologies in the GCC, this paper uncovered that various additional factors have remarkably influenced such delays. High hydrocarbon subsidies, low electricity tariff structure, fragmented energy policy, the absence of dedicated renewable energy regulator and regulatory framework, and a highly controlled power market are major barriers to renewable energy adoption in the GCC. The paper concludes with policy options to inform scaling up the adoption of renewable energy in the GCC.

Despite the abundance of renewable resources, renewable energy accounts for less than 1% of the total installed power capacity in oil‐producing Gulf Arab states. While the political–economic structures of oil‐producing Gulf Arab states are thought to have played a role in determining these states' remarkably low uptake of renewable energy, these structures remain understudied. With a focus on Oman, we assess how political–economic structures have influenced its adoption of renewable energy. We implement an analytical framework that integrates insights from energy transition studies and the political–economic theory of rentier states. Drawing on secondary data and primary information from semi‐structured interviews with renewable energy developers and energy experts, this study reveals that renewable energy roll‐out in Oman has been delayed through three different strategies, namely the use media and public debate, a reduction of the power of renewable energy stakeholders, and the use of institutional mechanisms to strengthen hydrocarbon‐based technologies. Oman's renewable energy transition efforts aim to protect rents from oil exports rather than advance low‐carbon energy transition.