Saudi Arabia pledges $2.5bn to Middle East Green Initiative
-
Alaina
- . November 8, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 1:01 am
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said during the UN Climate Summit, Cop27 in Egypt that the country will contribute $2.5 billion to the Middle East Green Initiative over the period of next 10 years and will also host its headquarters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
The sovereign wealth fund of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund, will also be aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, said the Crown Prince in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt where the world leaders have gathered for the Cop27 climate change conference.
The Middle East Green Initiative was launched last year by the Crown Prince with the agenda of reducing the carbon emissions from hydrocarbon production in the region by more than 60 per cent. Under the Middle East Green Initiative, aim is also to plant 50 billion trees across the Middle East region and “restore an area equivalent to 200 million hectares of degraded land”. The initiative is hoped to reduce l carbon levels by 2.5 per cent globally.
Read | Saudi Arabia Celebrates Once-Banned Halloween Party In Riyadh
“With concerted regional efforts, the initiative seeks to support the efforts and cooperation of the region to reduce emissions and remove more than 670 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is the amount of nationally determined contributions of all countries of the region, and represents 10 percent of global contributions when the initiative was announced,” the crown prince said.
“The Public Investment Fund will be one of the first sovereign funds globally and the first in the Middle East to achieve greenhouse net- zero by 2050, demonstrating its role as a key player in supporting global efforts to combat climate change,” the crown prince added.
The second Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit and Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) Forum is being held in Sharm El Sheikh on sidelines of ongoing Cop27.
