Comment: Cheap energy addiction must end

* username: rupertbu

The Gulf Arab countries have never had much fresh water or democracy, but the inhabitants have always had energy to burn when it comes to cooling large homes and sparkling office towers.

During the six-year economic boom that ended in 2008, it was domestic energy that powered the sprawl of Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, and Dubai.

But the promise of cheap energy has gone wrong. Consumption has risen 7 per cent a year, reaching levels that even the vast reserves of the Gulf cannot match.