The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is making significant progress in improving its economy by attracting tourists and trade. In the short run, however, economic activity will continue to be more based on oil, natural gas, and related industries. Rising demand for natural gas for power plants and industrial users, such as petrochemicals and steelmakers, has made the UAE a net gas importer, prompting the country to launch multibillion-dollar investments in nuclear and renewable energy. This study addresses the trend of solar energy production and consumption in the UAE. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was performed on the different types of solar energy in the UAE, and some strategies were developed based on it. The SWOT analysis reveals promising strategies for the UAE’s solar energy transition that would reduce fossil fuel demand, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through solar energy production, and transform the UAE into the carbon market centre of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The clean hydrogen in the prioritized value chain platform could provide energy incentives and reduce environmental impacts. In the current study, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis has been successfully applied to the clean hydrogen value chain in different sectors to determine Japan’s clean hydrogen value chain’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as a case study. Japan was chosen as a case study since we believe that it is the only pioneer country in that chain with a national strategy, investments, and current projects, which make it unique in this way. The analyses include evaluations of clean energy development, power supply chains, regional energy planning, and renewable energy development, including the internal and external elements that may influence the growth of the hydrogen economy in Japan. The ability of Japan to produce and use large quantities of clean hydrogen at a price that is competitive with fossil fuels is critical to the country’s future success. The implementation of an efficient carbon tax and carbon pricing is also necessary for cost parity. There will be an increasing demand for global policy coordination and inter-industry cooperation. The results obtained from this research will be a suitable model for other countries to be aware of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in this field in order to make proper decisions according to their infrastructures, potentials, economies, and socio-political states in that field.

Expanding cities means increasing the need for energy in the residential sector. The supply of this energy must be in environmentally friendly ways; one method of meeting demand in the residential sector is the use of combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems. The current review paper shows that due to the high cost of gas and electricity, CCHP can be used in various sectors, such as hospitals and airports, to reduce energy consumption with lower environmental impacts by using renewable energy systems as the main driver. While CCHP systems are not feasible in tropical regions with high cooling demand, a solar hybrid system is a superior candidate for regions with sufficient radiation. CCHP can also be used in sectors such as wastewater treatment units, desalination systems, and hydrogen production units to improve performance and increase productivity. The carbon and water footprints of CCHP systems are discussed in detail. The main drivers for reducing carbon and water footprints are improving system components such as the combustion engine and increasing productivity by expanding the system to multi-generation systems. Finally, the carbon tax index can help reduce carbon emissions if properly used in the right context. Based on our best knowledge, there is no extensive review of the environmental aspects of CCHP systems in the literature.