King Salman says climate change threatens life on earth

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman said that climate change is a phenomenon that threatens life on earth and does not recognize national borders.

He added that the objective is to achieve sustainable development, which requires a comprehensive methodology that takes into account the various development circumstance around the world.

These statements were made in King Salman's speech during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate being hosted by US President Joe Biden, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

In his speech, King Salman said that Saudi Arabia has incorporated the notions of sustainable development into its Vision 2030, launching in accelerated steps packages of strategies and regulations such as the National Environmental Strategy with the aim of producing 50% of the Kingdom's energy need by 2030 using clean renewable sources.

The King also said that enhancing the level of international cooperation is the optimal solution to meet the challenges of climate change. "During our G20 presidency last year, we advocated the need to adopt the notion of circular carbon economy, launching two international initiatives to curb land degradation and to protect coral reefs".

He indicated that the Crown Prince announced recently two new initiatives: the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, which aim at reducing carbon emissions in the region by more than 10% of global contribution, as well as planting 50 billion trees in the region in addition to a number of unique initiatives.

"These two initiatives have been endorsed by the international community. We will work with our partners to achieve their goals by hosting this year, the Green Saudi Initiative Forum and Middle East Green Initiative Summit," said King Salman.

The King concluded by affirming his keenness on and commitment to cooperation to combat climate change in order to create a better environment for future generations.