Saudi Crown Prince's environmental initiatives praised

Manama, Mar. 31 (BNA): Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Kingdom of Bahrain, HRH Prince Sultan bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has affirmed that the two initiatives of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, “Green Saudi Arabia” and “Green Middle East”, will define the trend of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region in protecting the Earth and nature. He added the initiatives will map out a well-defined and ambitious roadmap and contribute substantially to attaining global goals. The Saudi ambassador noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is determined to bring about a constant international effect, given its pioneering role. He pointed out that the kingdom will embark on implementing the “Green Middle East” initiative, together with brotherly countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Middle East. He said around 40 million hectares of degraded lands in the Gulf region and the Middle East will be rehabilitated by planting 10 billion trees inside KSA in the next decades and increasing the current area surrounded by trees up to twelve times. The Saudi ambassador noted that through both initiatives, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will work on reducing carbon emissions by over 4% of the international contributions. He pointed out the renewable energy projects which will provide 50% of electricity production in the kingdom by 2030. He also pointed out the clean hydrocarbon technologies that will eliminate more than 130 million tons of carbon emissions, in addition to raising the rate of waste diversion from landfills to 94%. HRH Prince Sultan bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al saud strongly believes that combating climate change boosts competitiveness and innovation, creates millions of jobs and ensures a cleaner and more sustainable future for the posterity. He indicated that the project aims to restore an area equivalent to 200 million hectares of degraded land, which represents 5% of the global goal of planting 1 trillion trees and achieves a reduction of 2.5% of global carbon rates. The Saudi ambassador added that the share of clean energy production in the Middle East today does not exceed 7%, and that the technologies used in oil production in the region are not efficient. He noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will work with these countries to transfer knowledge and share experiences, which will contribute to reducing carbon emissions resulting from oil production in the region by more than 60%. He indicated that these joint efforts will help reduce carbon emissions by more than 10% of global contributions. HRH Prince Sultan bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud voiced pride in his country’s announcement of the two initiatives which confirm that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the region and the whole world are taking constant steps to combat climate change, in line with KSA’s comprehensive development vision.