In Saudi Arabia, marginalized groups such as low-income migrant workers, rural Bedouin communities, and residents of underdeveloped urban peripheries often face limited access to affordable renewable energy, efficient public transportation, and formal waste management services. Migrant workers—largely from South Asia and East Africa—typically reside in labor camps or crowded housing near industrial zones, where infrastructure investments are minimal. These workers often endure unreliable electricity, limited public transit, and informal or absent waste services. Their low wages and non-citizen status restrict access to subsidized services or green energy programs. Similarly, nomadic or semi-nomadic Bedouin populations in remote regions face geographic and infrastructural exclusion, relying on diesel generators for power and experiencing inconsistent waste collection due to their dispersed settlements. In some older urban districts—especially those inhabited by undocumented residents or economically disadvantaged Saudi nationals—waste disposal remains informal, and public transport options are sparse. These groups rely mainly on fossil fuel-based energy due to the widespread national subsidy structure that favors hydrocarbons and the limited rollout of decentralized renewable energy sources.

Barriers to access stem from socio-economic inequality, legal residency status, and centralized energy policy frameworks that prioritize urban industrial and elite residential areas over marginalized communities. Cultural factors, including linguistic isolation and limited political representation, further compound exclusion. Addressing these disparities is essential for a just energy transition in Saudi Arabia.

The reasons for the marginalized groups’ lack of access to proper waste collection stem from the rapid urbanization that Saudi Arabia experienced in the last fifty years. For example, between 1950 and 2025, urbanization levels increased from 21% to 83%, with 85% of the country’s population now residing in cities. This rapid population growth is exacerbated by the division of urban responsibilities among multiple organizations, each answering to distinct authorities, the scant supply of modern wastewater treatment plants, and the lack of proper connectivity in the existing sewage system.

Limited access to affordable clean energy and formal wastewater management services has exposed residents in unplanned settlements, particularly in major cities such as Jeddah and Riyadh, to hygiene problems and health issues due to the unhealthy pollution of the environment. These areas are often flooded with sewage water, which increases the transmissibility of airborne, waterborne, and vector-borne disease and burdens the local city government with heavy financial costs. Dengue fever, a prevalent vector-borne illness in Jeddah, costs the municipality ($40 million) annually. Moreover, these unplanned developments in Saudi urban centers often lack proper and safe infrastructure, as most buildings and dwelling units are plagued by exposed electrical wires, which raise concerns over sudden fires and deaths from electrical shocks. To address the squatter settlements and substandard infrastructure, the Jeddah Governorate’s Undeveloped Neighborhoods Committee, in 2022, embarked on redevelopment projects to evaluate and demolish 26 districts covering an area of 18.5 million square meters in the city, evicting its residents. Residents were resettled, with 4,781 housing units allocated by the end of that year.

This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard Saudi Arabia Country Managers Abeer Abdulkareem & Amgad Ellaboudy.