Contradictions about Sustainability: A Case Study of College Students from Saudi Arabia

The present study offers a window into college students’ views of environmental sustainability in a country that is one of the major oil producers in the world. College students are the main constituents of the country’s programmatic plan (i.e., the 2030 Vision) for restructuring its infrastructure and human capital away from oil and gas production and toward a knowledge and service economy. Thus, their views can influence the success of the plan. In the present study, 430 college students at a university located at the heart of the oil and gas region were surveyed via an online questionnaire. Participants were of Middle Eastern descent. It was found that their beliefs and reported actions were generally supportive of a green economy. However, their beliefs in climate change and specifically in renewable energy did not predict much of their sustainability-based behaviors (e.g., recycling). The latter findings were interpreted as reflecting the internal conflict between embracing change (i.e., a desirable but uncertain future), and resisting change (i.e., a choice that would preserve, at least for some time, the benefits of the fossil fuel economy).