Crown Prince unveils Saudi Green, Green Middle East Initiatives

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the Saudi Green Initiative and the Green Middle East Initiative, which will be launched soon, will set the Kingdom’s direction to protect earth and nature. 

The two initiatives will strongly contribute to achieving the global objectives.  

“As a leading global oil producer, we are fully aware of our share of responsibility in advancing the fight against the climate crisis, and that, as our pioneering role in stabilizing energy markets during the oil and gas era, we will act to lead the next green era,” Prince Mohammed added. 

Saudi Arabia and the region are facing many environmental challenges, such as desertification, which poses a threat to the regional economy. Almost $13 billion are wasted due to sandstorms across the region every year, Prince Mohammed added. 

“Under the Saudi Green Initiative, we will work on increasing vegetation, reducing carbon emissions, combating pollution and land degradation and preserving marine life. 

A total of 10 billion trees will be planted in the Kingdom over the next decades, equivalent to rehabilitating about 40 million hectares of degraded lands. 

Moreover, tree-planted areas will increase 12 times, which represent the Kingdom’s contribution of over 4% to the global initiative to reduce land degradation and coral reef and 1% of the global trillion tree target. 

The Kingdom will also work on increasing the percentage of protected areas to over 30% of its 600,000 square kilometers area. Accordingly, Saudi Arabia will exceed the current global target of protecting 17% of land in each country. 

Meanwhile, the Saudi Green Initiative will help reduce carbon emissions by more than 4% of global contributions through renewable energy projects that will generate 50% of power in the Kingdom by 2030, and projects in the field of clean hydrocarbon technologies that will eliminate more than 130 million tons of carbon emissions, in addition to raising the percentage of waste diversion from landfills to 94%.

The Kingdom is determined to make a lasting global impact. It will start working on the Green Middle East initiative in coordination with neighboring GCC nations and Middle Eastern countries to plant an additional 40 billion trees in the Middle East, Crown Prince said. 

The global share of clean energy production does not yet exceed 7%. Saudi Arabia will work with regional partners to transfer their knowledge and share their experiences, which will contribute to reducing carbon emissions resulting from hydrocarbon production in the region by more than 60%. 

More details about the Saudi Green Initiative will be announced in the next few months, the Crown Prince noted, adding that a regional gathering in the presence of international partners for the Green Middle East Initiative will be held in the second quarter of 2022.