Saudi Arabia to detail Green Initiative plans to address climate change

Reuters

Riyadh - Move comes ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties

By Reuters

Published: Sat 23 Oct 2021, 8:26 AM

Last updated: Sat 23 Oct 2021, 9:20 AM

Saudi Arabia will detail its plans to address climate change at an environment event on Saturday.

The Saudi Green Initiative, first announced in March, comes ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26, in Glasgow from October 31 - November 12, that hopes to agree on deeper emissions cuts to tackle global warming.

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Riyadh, a signatory to the Paris climate pact, has yet to announce nationally determined contributions (NDCs) - goals for individual states under global efforts to prevent average global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The United States and the EU want Saudi Arabia to join a global initiative on slashing emissions of methane by 30 per cent from 2020 levels by 2030. US climate envoy John Kerry will attend a wider Middle East green summit Riyadh is hosting on Monday.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by more than 4 per cent of global contributions through initiatives including generating 50 per cent of its energy needs from renewables by 2030 and planting billions of trees in the desert state.

Fellow Gulf OPEC producer the United Arab Emirates earlier this month announced a plan for net-zero emissions by 2050.