This introductory chapter offers a short overview of carbon neutrality, the great expectations surrounding its primary beneficiaries, and the macro opportunities and implications it will have, political, economic, and social. It then quickly narrows the focus to the emerging economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, their evolving nature, and the role envisioned for carbon neutrality in their transformation from oil-based to cleaner, knowledge-based economies. Next, the chapter contextualises the challenges facing GCC countries to effectively transition towards carbon neutrality. The gap between the aforementioned interest and potential of carbon neutrality in the region and the scholarly work on the topic is then highlighted, motivating the need for the current volume. The objectives, scope, and expected contributions of the volume are finally presented.

This concluding chapter presents a high-level overview of the topics and case studies outlined in the earlier chapters, reiterating the main contributions of the book to the literature. The chapter then proceeds with ten takeaways, insights learned, and recommendations derived from the individual chapters. It concludes with a synthesis of the key findings and lessons learned from the various chapters, reflecting on the policy measures, technological innovation, and behavioural change enablers needed for a successful carbon neutrality transition in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

This chapter investigates the interaction between people and their built environments to understand the drivers of occupants’ indoor comfort and related energy behaviors. The study surveys 2,600 participants divided into high and low consumer categories, examining the relationship between human indoor comfort perceptions, occupants’ characteristics, and building features. The chapter concludes with an in-depth analysis of the relationship between comfort perceptions and consumption, consequence awareness, self-responsibility, habits, and norms. Furthermore, the chapter introduces a human–building interaction (HBI) concept mapping, which serves as a comprehensive and adaptable framework for guiding evaluation and planning processes in the field. By considering occupant comfort and energy use as fundamental elements in sustainable building design and operation, the introduced integrated framework aims to provide a reliable and flexible tool for analyzing and optimizing building performance. Ultimately, this framework can be utilized to develop targeted strategies that enhance the efficiency of energy policies and sustainability performance indicators, thereby facilitating the transition to net zero and carbon-neutral buildings.