Emirati Students and Climate Change Adaptation: Green Activism in the UAE?

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Sustainable Development Goals Series

Publication Date

6-4-2026

Abstract

How are the leaders’ discourse and efforts on climate change received by the Emirate public in this top-down organized society? Most research on environmental engagement focuses on European and North American countries and the small body of literature on environmentalism in the Middle East focuses on either policy or on practical possibilities and constraints. The present chapter fills both these gap by discussing the relatively lacking environmental knowledge and engagement among young Emirate students and argues that this is related to their high level of trust in their leaders, their low exposure to hands-on experiences with nature and to sustainable activities, as well as to the de-contextualized approach in the teaching of these issues. To remedy the situation, it is here suggested to produce contextualized research and teaching materials, arrange student field trips, and in general to approach the topic from the local, in this case tribal and Muslim, culture.

ISSN

2523-3084

Publisher

Springer Nature Switzerland

Volume

Part F2275

First Page

19

Last Page

28

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Awareness, Climate change, Engagement, Students, United Arab Emirates

Scopus ID

105047465326

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

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