PERSPECTIVE COP 18 in Qatar: Between»Fossil of the Day« and»Best Green Practice« What the Gulf States can contribute to the success of the Climate Change Conference in Qatar JUDITH ALTHAUS November 2012 n Qatar’s obstructionist stance to climate policy in recent decades does not do justice to the foreign policy ambitions of the Gulf emirates. The flexibility, which interna­tional observers are hoping for from the Qatari leadership in the negotiations, would send a signal that Qatar is willing to gradually abandon its role as brakeman in inter­national climate negotiations. n Qatar has to actively confront the reality of dwindling oil reserves. At the same time, it is important to limit rising domestic consumption, which reduces the volume of exports and thus has a direct impact on the profit margin from oil exports. This in­creases the pressure on the negotiations to establish long-term, alternative energy supplies. n Nevertheless, caution should be exercised in the expectations for the climate sum­mit, because one of the largest problems in the Gulf region remains low energy ef­ficiency and escalating subsidy policy. It is not to be expected that the ruling powers will massively curb their subsidy policy in times of continued political unrest in the Arab world.