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

Professor Susana Mourato | Principal Investigator 

Susana is Pro-Director of Research (LSE Directorate), Professor of Environmental Economics and Associate of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Dr Davide Contu | Co-Principal Investigator

Davide is Assistant Professor at Canadian University Dubai. 

Dr Ganga Shreedhar | Co-Principal Investigator

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

Woong Ki Lee | Research Assistant

Woong Ki is a PhD Student at the LSE Department of Geography and Environment.

Dallas O'Dell | Research Assistant

Dallas is a PhD student in the Psychological and Behavioural Science Dept (LSE), studying sustainable and reduced consumption and its connection to degrowth. 

Dr Aseel Takshe | Researcher

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