This article describes the development of first carbon atlas of the state of Kuwait which is a major step forward to support the decarbonisation of an oil-rich state. The Kuwaiti power sector proved to be the predominant stationary source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission due to a high regional demand for electricity and water. The chemical industry ranked second in this analysis with a significant share of CO2 emissions (26%) which was attributed to heavy and energy intensive industries followed by road transportation (16%). In terms of geographical distribution, the Shuaiba industrial area proved to have the highest carbon footprint with 15 Mt CO2/yr followed by the Al-Zour area with 12 Mt CO2/yr. It can be observed from the analysis that the high emission facilities are clustered mainly in the southeast which is the main industrial area in the state. This distribution could potentially be favorable to form a 'capture cluster' which could reduce of overall cost of carbon capture deployment as a route for a sustainable carbon mitigation practice. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.