Forecasting CO₂ emissions in the Persian gulf states

The Persian Gulf States (Bahrain. Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE) have dominated the oil and gas sector since the discovery of oil in the region. They are the world largest producers of crude oil, producing about 35 and 25 percent of the world natural gas and crude oil respectively. The use of fossil fuels is directly linked to the release of CO₂ into the environment. CO₂ accounts for 58.8 percent of all greenhouse gases released via human activities, consequently, presenting a malign impact on the environment through climate change, global warming, biodiversity, acid rain and desertification among others. Due to its importance, the data on CO₂ emission obtained from US EIA from 1980 - 2008 was regressed using least square techniques and projections were made to the year 2050. Results indicated that each country's p-value was less than 0.05 which implies that the models can be used for predicting CO₂ emissions into the future. The data shows the emission of CO₂ by country from the highest to the lowest in 2016 as: Iran (590.72 Mtonnes; 7.58 tonnes of CO₂/person) > Saudi Arabia (471.82 Mtonnes; 18 tonnes of CO₂/person) > UAE (218.58 Mtonnes; 41.31 tonnes of CO₂/person) > Iraq (114.01 Mtonees; 3.71 tonnes of CO₂/person) > Kuwait (92.58 Mtonnes; 36.31 tonnes of CO₂/person) > Qatar (68.26 Mtonnes; 37 tonnes of CO₂/person) > Bahrain (33.16 Mtonnes; 27.5 tonnes of CO₂/person)". The sequence from the country with highest emission (Iran) to the country with lowest emission (Bahrain) will remain the same until 2050. A projection depicting a 7.7 percent yearly increase in CO₂ emission in the Persian Gulf States.