GCC countries face considerable risks due to climate change because of their already high temperatures, water scarcity, and the potential loss of coastline and biodiversity. Policies that foster structural behavioural changes by supporting low-carbon lifestyles are urgently needed. What drives attitudes towards climate change and to what extent are individuals willing to pay for climate change mitigation policies?

This project aims to estimate the willingness to pay for emissions reduction policies, as well as the associated willingness to adopt low-carbon lifestyles in GCC countries. It investigates how effective different behavioural mechanisms are in enhancing the acceptability of climate change policies and the willingness to adopt and pay for low carbon lifestyles. The project also looks at the different perceptions and preferences GCC nationals have vis-à-vis the transient population living in the Gulf region when it comes to these questions.

There is scant information on these topics with reference to the Gulf region, and this study aims to bridge this gap. It proposes to employ a robust and mixed quantitative and qualitative approach, collecting primary data from residents of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait to inform policy makers in the region and academics in the field.

This project forms part of the Academic Collaboration with Arab Universities Programme, funded by the Emirates Foundation.

Research Team

Dr Susana Mourato | Principal Investigator 

Susana is Professor of Environmental Economics and Head of the LSE Department of Geography and Environment. 

Dr Davide Contu | Co-Principal Investigator

Davide is Assistant Professor at Canadian University Dubai. 

Dr Ganga Shreedhar | Researcher 

Ganga is a Assistant Professor at the LSE Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science. 

Dr Aseel Takshe | Researcher

Aseel is Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Canadian University Dubai.