A review of electricity consumption and CO2 emissions in Gulf Cooperation Council households and proposed scenarios for its reduction

PurposeThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of countries has some of the highest electricity consumptions and carbon dioxide emissions per capita in the world. This poses a direct challenge to the GCC government’s ability to meet their CO2 reduction targets. In this review paper the current household electricity consumption situation in the GCC is reviewed.Design/methodology/approachThree scenarios for reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions are proposed and evaluated using strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) as well as the political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental (PESTLE) frameworks.FindingsThe first scenario found that using solar Photovoltaic (PV) or hybrid solar PV and wind system to power household lighting could save significant amounts of energy, based on lighting making up between 8% to 30% of electricity consumption in GCC households. The second scenario considers replacement of conventional appliances with energy-efficient ones that use around 20% less energy. The third scenario looks at influencing consumer behavior towards sustainable energy consumption.Practical implicationsPilot trials of these scenarios are recommended for a number of households. Then the results and feedback could be used to launch the schemes GCC-wide.Social implicationsThe proposed scenarios are designed to encourage responsible electricity consumption and production within households (SDG12).Originality/valueAll three proposals are found viable for policymakers to implement. However, to ensure successful implementation GCC Governments are recommended to review all the opportunities and challenges associated with these schemes as laid out in this paper.