06.
Kuwait faces profound social and ecological transformations from both the impact of climate change and global – if not national - efforts to address it. This research project has shown that despite commitments by the state of Kuwait to transition to a “low carbon equivalent emissions economy”, as well as the widespread and acknowledged shared experience of climate change and the extreme weather events it has generated, the topic of climate change is not widely discussed or engaged with any depth in the country. There is significant work to be done to build public and policy-maker awareness on climate change in Kuwait. Furthermore, addition research is required on how climate change is already impacting the daily lives of the inhabitants of the country.
The challenges that climate change brings and efforts to shift to net-zero are growing exponentially. The sooner that the issue of climate change is engaged and addressed within Kuwait, the greater chance the country (and the world) has of responding to it. Human action has resulted in climate change but it can also mitigate it. The IPCC report has made clear that the deliberate removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could reserve some aspects of climate change. As one participant in the youth focus group said, “I do think climate change should be a priority issue, as we are already experiencing its effects. It is easier to address it now than to wait until it’s too big to control in ten years’ time.”1