Migrant workers 

Migrant communities represent about 37% percent of the total population in Saudi Arabia. According to 2020 global estimates on international migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), there were over 13 million migrant workers who resided in Saudi Arabia. Of those, around a quarter of a million of them were employed in the construction and agriculture sectors. They are often subject to substandard living and working conditions, exploitation, and abuse by their employers or recruitment agents, including passport confiscation, failing to pay wages, illegal recruitment fees, and debt bondage. They also lack legal protections and adequate access to social services such as healthcare and education, making them particularly vulnerable to devastating climate change effects. They are usually exposed to dangers such as heat exhaustion, heat strokes, heat rush and in some cases, death.  Yet, those migrant workers are the hardest to reach climate target group because of their socioeconomic vulnerability, lack of legal protections, inability to unionize, and limited access to social services, as well as communication barriers.

This population is largely male, lives in employer-provided dormitory-style housing, and often lacks mobility, legal agency, and language access. Their lifestyles and energy usage are shaped almost entirely by employer decisions rather than personal choice, meaning they rarely consume in ways that allow for voluntary emission-reducing behavior (e.g., choosing efficient appliances, reducing transport emissions, or adopting renewables).

They are not contributing to greenhouse-gas reduction efforts because they have almost no purchasing power, limited access to climate-related information (most public material is in Arabic), and no decision-making influence in areas like transportation, housing efficiency, or waste management. Their work permits tie them to employers, reducing autonomy, and most climate initiatives in the Kingdom target citizens or corporations rather than migrant communities

Proposal 1: Employer-mandated energy efficiency retrofits in migrant housing

The Ministry of Human Resources & Social Development (MHRSD) could require large employers (e.g., construction companies) to install basic efficiency upgrades: LED lights, smart timers for A/C, and low-flow water fixtures in labor camps. Costs are low (USD ~$15–40 per worker) and pay back within a year through reduced utility bills. Implementation: government sets compliance rule; companies retrofit during routine maintenance; NGOs help with audits. Outcome measurement: kWh reduction per housing unit, tied to annual emissions reporting.

Proposal 2: Multilingual climate literacy & waste-sorting program in labor camps

Partnering the Saudi Green Initiative with embassies and migrant community groups, the government could deploy visual, low-literacy training and provide color-coded bins for recycling and food-waste separation. Cost: <$5 per worker/year. Lead actors: SGI + municipalities. Measured by: waste-diversion rates, participation counts, and reductions in landfill-bound waste.

Both interventions are feasible within 1–3 years, inexpensive, and scalable across regions most dependent on migrant labor.

Contact Person: Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi

Title: Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (KSA)

Contact email: InternationalMedia@hrsd.gov.sa

This Post was submitted by Saudi Arabia Country Managers, Abeer Abdulkareem and Amgad Ellaboudy.