Kuwait aims to reach net zero emissions by 2060

Kuwait has pledged to reach carbon neutrality in the oil and gas sector by 2050 and in other sectors by 2060. Kuwait’s energy-related CO₂ emissions were in 2021 almost four times higher than in 1990. Between 2016 and 2021, they increased by 13%. The country had the world’s second-highest per capita CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion at 23 tCO₂/cap in 2021, after Qatar (33 tCO₂/cap).

In October 2021, the country updated its first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), pledging to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 7.4% under the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario by 2035 with unconditional national effort. Under its BAU scenario, the country estimates GHG emissions at around 142 MtCO_2eq by 2035, which is 65% more than in 2016 (reference year).

Most of the reduction in GHG emissions would come from an oil-to-gas substitution in energy production, new CCGT power plants, energy efficiency measures and renewable projects; Kuwait would also promote carbon capture and storage and mangrove cultivation.