A legal perspective to environmental sustainability in Saudi Arabia
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study presents a legal perspective on environmental sustainability in Saudi Arabia. The principal purpose of the study is to explore how the different aspects of environmental sustainability are highlighted and fostered by various laws laid down by the Saudi government and emphasized by the 2030 Saudi Vision, and to examine Saudi Arabia's environmental laws and regulations, emphasizing the Kingdom's attempts to strike a balance between environmental responsibility and economic progress. The study attempts to fulfill three main objectives: (1) exploring how environmental sustainability is supported by various laws and regulations in Saudi Arabia, (2) demonstrating the different laws and rules regulating the process of environmental sustainability in Saudi Arabia, and (3) highlighting how 2030 Saudi Vision is highly concerned with the numerous facets of environmental sustainability. Two main findings are revealed here: first, Saudi Arabia has made significant strides in creating a strong legal framework to handle environmental concerns while striking a balance between sustainability and economic growth; and second, Saudi Arabia is making great efforts to safeguard its environment for coming generations by enacting extensive environmental laws, rules, and regulations, such as those pertaining to waste management, pollution prevention, and water conservation.
Downloads
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This open-access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
How to Cite
Share
References
Adiansyah, J. (2022). Carbon emission reduction using waste management strategy approach for improving a mine site environmental performance. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 97, 157-162.
Aguilera, V., Aragón-Correa, A., Marano, V., & Tashman, A. (2021). The corporate governance of environmental sustainability: A review and proposal for more integrated research. Journal of Management, 47(6), 1468-1497. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206321991212
Ahmad, F., Saeed, Q., Shah, S., Gondal, M., & Saqib Mumtaz, S. (2022). Environmental sustainability: Challenges and approaches.In: Manoj Kumar Jhariya et al. (eds.), Natural resources conservation and advances for sustainability (pp. 243-270). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822976-7.00019-3
Aladeem, R., & Al-Sogair, Y. (2019). Effectiveness of the board of directors in monitoring executive management: preliminary evidence from Saudi Arabia. Journal of Governance and Regulation, 8(3), 72-82. https://doi.org/10.22495/jgr_v8_i3_p7
Almoosa, H., Al-Hammad, A., & Al-Salamin, H. (2015). Assessment of household recycling behavior in Saudi Arabia: Case study of Saudi Aramco camp residents. International Journal of Education and Research, 3, 57-80.
Alomari, A., & Heffron, J. (2021). Utilising law in the transition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to a low-carbon economy. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 39, 107-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2021.03.003
Alqahtani, F., Alswailem, Y., Alshabragi, A., & Sherif, M. (2022). Smart planning of waste management system in Saudi Arabia; challenges and opportunities. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1026/1/012035
Ashford, N., & Hall, R. (2011). The importance of regulation-induced innovation for sustainable development. Sustainability, 3, 270-292. https://doi.org/10.3390/su3010270
Birnie P., Boyle A., Redgwell C. (2009). International law and the environment (3rd ed.) Third Edition. Oxfor: Oxford University Press.
Boyle A., & Freestone, D. (eds.) (1999). International law and sustainable development: Past achievements and future challenges. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198298076.001.0001
Crowther D., Seifi S., & Moyeen A. (Eds.) (2018). The goals of sustainable development- Responsibility and governance. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd., Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5047-3
Cruz, D.,& Tan R. (2022). A supply chain optimization model considering cost and water footprint. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 97, 301-306.
Edo, I., Samuel, O., Oloni, O., Ezekiel, O., Ikpekoro, O., Obasohan, P., Ongulu, J., Otunuya, F., Opiti, R., & Ajakaye et al. (2024). Environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicology of heavy metals. Chemistry and Ecology, 40(3), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/02757540.2024.2306839
Fadeeva, Z. (2005). Promise of sustainability collaboration-Potential fulfilled? Journal of Cleaner Production, 13(2), 165-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-6526(03)00125-2
Fisher, J., Arora, P., Chen, S. et al. (2021). Four propositions on integrated sustainability: toward a theoretical framework to understand the environment, peace, and sustainability nexus. Sustainability Science, 16, 1125-1145.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00925-y
Gupta J., & Vegelin C., (2016). Sustainable Development Goals and Inclusive Development. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics. 16(43) 433-448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-016-9323-z
Halder, P., Hansen, E., Kangas, J., & Laukkanen, T. (2020). How national culture and ethics matter in consumers’ green consumption values. Journal of Cleaner Production, 265, 121754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121754
Halla, P., & Binder, C. (2020). Sustainability assessment: introduction and framework. In Binder, C., Wyss, R., & Massaro, E. (Eds.), Sustainability assessment of urban systems (pp. 7-29). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108574334.003
Islam, T., & Ali, A. (2024). Sustainable green energy transition in Saudi Arabia: Characterizing policy framework, interrelations and future research directions. Next Energy, 5, 10016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxener.2024.100161
Jeong, I., Choi, M., Ku, D., & Lee, S. (2022). Activation plans of public transport based on urban network analysis. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 97, 169-174.
Kaswan, V., Choudhary, M., Kumar, P., Kaswan, S., & Bajya, P. (2019). Green production strategies. In: Ferranti, P., Berry, E., & Jock, A. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of food security and sustainability (pp. 492-500). Amsterdam: Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100596-5.22292-0
Kim, D., Choi, M., Ku, D., & Lee, S. (2022). Economic and environmental impacts of tag-less framework. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 97, 37-42.
Nasir, M., Zakarya, A., Kamaruddin, A., & Islam, A. (2022). Advances and future prospects on biotechnological approaches towards Azolla for environmental sustainability. Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, 45(3), 595-609. https://doi.org/10.47836/pjtas.45.3.04
Purvis B., Mao Y., & Robinson D. (2019). Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins. Sustainability Science, 14, 681-695. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0627-5
Schrijver, N. (2008). The evolution of sustainable development in international law: Inception, meaning and status. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047444466
Sun, Y, Guan, W., Razzaq, A., Shahzad, M., & Binh, N. (2022). Transition towards ecological sustainability through fiscal decentralization, renewable energy and green investment in OECD countries. Renewable Energy, 190, 385-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2022.03.099
Viñuales, J. (2021). Sustainable development. In: Rajamani, L., & Peel, J. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law (2ndn; pp. 2850301). Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198849155.003.0017
Williams, J. (2023). Circular cities: Planning for circular development in European cities. European Planning Studies, 31(1), 14-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2022.2060707
Xuan, N. (2024). Determinants of environmental pollution: Evidence from Indonesia. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 10(4), 100386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2024.100386
Zhang, H., Ling-Yun, H., & Zhong Z. (2024). Can policy achieve environmental fairness and environmental improvement? Evidence from the Xin’an River Project in China. Journal of Policy Modeling, 46(1), 212-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2023.11.008
Zou, C., Weizhen, G., & Fengyi, A. (2025). Strategic mineral policies for Indonesia: Enhancing global competitiveness, economic growth, and environmental sustainability through innovation and renewable energy. Renewable Energy, 244.122593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2025.122593