Young people make up a sizable portion of the population in the MENA, a ‘climate change hotspot’. And, in line with global trends, the youth population is also a demographic deeply concerned about the climate crisis and willing to make behaviour changes to help mitigate it.
These factors mean they stand to make a big impact on disrupting the’ business as usual,’ approach that stubbornly persists across many industries.
Indeed, the annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey, now in its 15th edition, found that as climate change concerns grow, the majority of young Arabs now support boycotting brands that damage the environment.
So, what does this mean for the region, what kind of impact will it have, and are companies moving to meet expectations?
Growing climate change concern
This year’s Arab Youth survey collected responses from the largest sample in its history. Through conducting face-to-face interviews with 3,600 Arab citizens aged 18 to 24 in 53 cities across 18 Arab states, it found that climate change is a priority for many of the region’s over 200 million youth.
The research found that concern about climate change has reached a five-year high, with 66 per cent of Arab youth sharing that they are now ‘very concerned.’ And this is no surprise, considering that 71% of those surveyed said that global warming is already having an impact on their lives. In GCC states, this figure stood at 74 per cent, while in North Africa, it rose to 76 per cent. Indeed, with temperatures rising twice as fast as the global average, dwindling water supplies and raging wildfires, climate change effects are ramping up across the region.
Interestingly, when it comes to action on climate change, 87 per cent of Arab youth believe their government is taking “positive action,” and we are beginning to see policy directed at climate change mitigation and adaptation. Yet, over half (56 per cent) called for governments to set “transparent, accountable targets for achieving Net Zero emissions.”
Indeed, when it comes to countries adopting net-zero pledges in the MENA, only UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Iraq were highlighted as making the list.
Driving action through behaviour change
While many of the young people interviewed for the survey highlighted the role of government in driving forward change, young people also shared that they are adapting their own behaviours, including which brands they buy from.
The results showed that 65 per cent of youth in GCC states are ready to support calls to boycott brands that damage the environment, and while there was a slightly lower percentage in North Africa (58 per cent) and the Levantine nations (51 per cent), it is a trend that clearly extends across the region.
Further to this, many Arab youth were in consensus about their everyday behaviour having an impact on climate change, with GCC youth believing this most strongly (80%), followed by 60% in the Levant and 58% in North Africa.
This aligns with the findings of a 2023 Economist Impact report, ‘Great expectations: Arab youth’s sustainability priorities,’ which found that 98% of the young people they surveyed had made “environmentally conscious” lifestyle choices in the last year.
That being said, respondents said that key barriers to adopting more sustainable alternatives are that they’re “too expensive,” (35 per cent) and there is a lack of availability of sustainable options (28 per cent).
The road ahead
According to the Economist Impact report, which was supported by the Arab Youth Center, Arab youth believe that companies should:
- Prioritise reducing their waste and improving waste management (38%),
- Eliminate pollutants (32%),
- Use more sustainable products and materials (30%),
- Develop new climate-friendly products and services (28%), and
- Subsidise the price of environmentally sustainable products (25%).
So, with Arab youth across the region pushing forward the sustainability agenda, are companies responding in kind?
We are indeed beginning to see some traction here within the region. The UAE’s National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, for example, is driving forward action on food waste, encouraging companies to transition toward more sustainable practices.
And, as the Economist Impact report notes, large companies are starting to take action, including Majid al Futtaim, which has launched a number of initiatives, both tackling waste, and targeted at, more broadly, enhancing sustainability. This includes a 2040 net-positive sustainability strategy, a plan to phase out single-use plastics by 2025, and a rescue food programme called “Feed the Future.”
Elsewhere, to meet the demand for more climate-friendly food, in the UAE, both the IFFCO and Switch Foods have launched alt-meat facilities, and cultivated meat and alternative dairy companies are also on the rise in the region.
Meanwhile, although fashion is a sector notorious for its poor sustainability credentials globally, and there’s a long way to go, movement towards better practices is being supported by initiatives such as the Saudi 100 Brands initiative.
Similarly, in the beauty industry, a number of regional brands have made sustainability a core component of their businesses. But, as highlighted by Economist Impact, companies across the region also need to focus on making sustainable options more accessible and affordable.
Indeed, while sustainability is quickly rising up the agenda for companies in the MENA, they need to ramp up efforts if they are to retain their customers and actually have an impact on climate change.