RIYADH, Oct 24 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, inaugurated yesterday, the annual Saudi Green Initiative Forum, in the capital, Riyadh.
He announced the introduction of the first package of initiatives, representing investments worth more than 700 billion Saudi Riyals (186.6 billion U.S. dollars).
The initiatives outlined a roadmap for protecting the environment and confronting climate change, and will contribute to the development of green economy, create quality jobs and provide significant investment opportunities for the private sector, the crown prince said.
In the first phase of afforestation initiatives, more than 450 million trees will be planted with eight million hectares of degraded lands rehabilitated, he revealed.
Mohammed bin Salman also highlighted plans to transform Riyadh into one of the most sustainable cities in the world.
Energy-related initiatives were designed to reduce Saudi Arabia’s carbon emissions by 278 million tonnes annually by 2030, more than double the kingdom’s target, according to him.
Saudi Arabia launched the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) and Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) in Mar, this year, to protect the environment in the kingdom and the region.
Meanwhile, Saudi Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, announced that the kingdom’s goal is to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060.
He confirmed that the goal shouldn’t have an adverse financial or economic impact on oil exporters, expecting his country to be a model in producing all energy sources, with efforts to make gas and renewable energy account for 50 percent in energy mix by 2030.
Saudi Arabia will join the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce methane emissions globally by 30 percent, the minister said.
Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, told one of the forum’s sessions that, the Saudi Green Initiative Forum rallies the climate action ecosystem to achieve ambitious national targets.
The forum focuses on advancing towards the achievement of global targets and helping catalyse climate action in a regionally and internationally coordinated manner.
