Abu dhabi: The Statistical Centre for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC-Stat) affirmed that the GCC member states have made notable progress in the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) Index. In a statement, the Centre noted that the Council's overall average score surged to 41.5 in 2024, compared with 37.7 in 2023.

According to Qatar News Agency, the Centre's data show that three GCC countries lead the index across the Middle East and North Africa. The CCE Index serves as a comprehensive assessment tool measuring the advancement of 125 countries worldwide toward achieving net-zero emissions through the CCE framework, which balances mitigation technologies with enabling tools.

The index comprises two main components, namely the Performance Index, which measures the extent to which countries employ emission mitigation technologies, where the GCC states advanced in 2024 to 35.8, up from 29.7 in 2023, and the Enablers Index, which gauges readiness to transition to a low-carbon economy, where the GCC member states progressed to 47.2 points, compared with 45.6 points in 2023.

The statement further indicated that the GCC countries achieved a paradigm shift in contributing to the establishment of global renewable energy plants, with the share of the GCC's installed renewable energy capacity rising to 0.43 percent of the total global installed capacity in 2024, up from 0.03 percent in 2015.

The Supreme Council of the GCC underscores its commitment to the core pillars of the energy transition, namely energy security, economic development, and climate change mitigation, through sustainable investments in hydrocarbon assets. The member states broadly adhere to the four-pronged framework of the CCE, encompassing emissions abatement, utilization, recycling, and removal.