Low-carbon lifestyle index and its socioeconomic determinants among households in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Understanding the complex relationship between household consumption patterns, lifestyles, socioeconomic characteristics, and carbon footprint is crucial for mitigating climate change. However, the impact of urban household lifestyles on carbon footprint remains understudied in the Middle East, which ranks high in carbon emissions per capita globally. A case study of the region is particularly relevant due to its unique cultural characteristics that may have different impacts on household consumption patterns. This study develops household low-carbon index based on consumption lifestyles at home, workplace, and during leisure, and shopping, and predicts its socioeconomic determinants in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected via a questionnaire distributed among urban residents in the Dammam Metropolitan Area and subsequently analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate regression. The study found varying attitudes toward packaging, waste recycling, recreation, transportation, food consumption, textiles, electronics, and furniture use among respondents. The average household low-carbon index was moderate (ℼ = 1.642, σ = 0.734) on a 3.0 Likert scale. The study identified income, household size, household type, education level, gender, age, and marital status, as significant predictors of household low-carbon index (p < 0.05). This study equips policymakers with valuable insights to implement low-carbon policies and raise public awareness of the benefits of adopting low-carbon lifestyles, thereby fostering urban resilience and sustainability.