In collaboration with The London School of Economics & Political Science.
Climate change poses major risks for Gulf countries, potentially affecting their food security, water processing, and public health to an alarming extent, in a region where temperatures are already critically high. These countries have been undergoing an exponential economic and population growth, accompanied by a sustained growth in Greenhouse Gas emissions. To curb climate change, besides switching towards an energy mix with less fossil fuels, it is urgent to foster low-carbon lifestyles amongst the residents: for instance, in terms of transportation and energy consumption.
Dr Aseel Takshe, Assistant Professor and Head of the Environmental Health Sciences Department and Dr David Contu, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Management, were two Canadian University Dubai faculty members on this important project. The project aims to find and assess measures that could help make climate change mitigation measures more acceptable in the Gulf region. To this end, a central part of the investigation is to contribute to understanding what drives behaviours (what people do) and attitudes (what people think) around climate change. The project will focus on the following countries: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The study will include collecting qualitative data using focus groups to inform the subsequent preparation of the online surveys to be administered across the three countries, producing a rich and unique dataset. Findings and recommendations will be shared in the form of publications and seminars.
The project forms part of the Academic Collaboration with Arab Universities Programme, funded by the Emirates Foundation.
To find out more: https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/research/collaboration-programme/2020-21/susana-mourato’
Principal Investigator
Dr. Susana Mourato | Susana is Professor of Environmental Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Davide Contu | Davide is Assistant Professor at Canadian University Dubai
Researchers
Dr. Aseel Takshe | Aseel is Assistant Professor at Canadian University Dubai and Head of the Environmental Health Sciences Department at Canadian University Dubai
Dr Ganga Shreedhar | Ganga is Assistant Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science