By Nebal Snan

KUWAIT: Electric buses could take Kuwait one step closer to achieving its climate goals, but some changes are needed to ensure they meet their intended objective, experts say. The first batch of buses, produced by Chinese bus manufacturer King Long, joined the fleet of Kuwait Public Transport Company (KPTC) last December and is expected to hit the road in January. KPTC CEO Mansour Abdul Mohsen Al-Saad told media that the company plans to operate more electric buses in the future.

Jenan Bahzad

Speaking to the Kuwait Times, Secretary General of the Kuwaiti Environmental Protection Society Jenan Bahzad said the buses are Kuwait's hope for reducing air and noise pollution. According to a 2017 evaluation of carbon emissions in the country, road transportation constituted the third biggest source of air pollution at 16.6 percent. The top source was power stations and water at 41.6 percent, followed by chemicals such as fertilizers and asphalt at 25.5 percent.

Bahzad highlighted the positive effects resulting from easing off fossil fuels, including drop in incidences of respiratory diseases. But she said it takes a lot more than purchasing new vehicles for us to reap the benefits. Bahzad singled out the need for infrastructure to support the technology and provide road users with a good commuting experience.

A paper examining transportation equity in Kuwait published by The London School of Economics and Political Science has found that the public transport system is "inaccessible" for both Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis. The study described the current infrastructure as "limited and inefficient" with bus routes that do not serve people's needs.

Mohammad Ramadan

Switching to electric vehicles might not seem like an attractive option for people in oil-producing Kuwait, says economist Mohammad Ramadan. Purchasing and running electric vehicles could be more expensive than conventional ones, given the relatively low cost of fossil fuels in the country. But there are other factors at play, such as the Kuwaiti government's commitment to decrease carbon emissions. The government's environment goals were affirmed most recently on the sidelines of COP27, where Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah pledged a carbon-neutral oil and gas sector by 2050 and promised to extend that to the rest of the country by the following decade.

As the country prioritizes reducing emissions, said Ramadan, electric buses are likely worth the cost. One obstacle jeopardizing the success of electric buses in Kuwait could be the electricity generation system which relies on burning fossil fuels to produce energy, thus exacerbating climate change. But Bahzad said the vehicles have a smaller carbon footprint compared to those running on diesel regardless of the source of electricity.

A joint study carried out by universities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan found that GCC countries hoping to utilize electric vehicles to lower carbon emissions, such as Saudi Arabia, must invest more into renewable energy sources.

More projects related to electric vehicles might be on the horizon for Kuwait. In 2021, Kuwait Ports Authority announced, with little detail, the approval of a proposal to build the Middle East's first city to serve electric vehicle manufacturers. However, no updates on the city have been provided since then.