Saudi Arabia will operate the first train powered by hydrogen in the region as per Minister of Transport and Logistics

According to Saudi Arabia's Minister of Transport and Logistics, Saleh Al-Jasser, the country will run the first hydrogen-powered train in the area. At the COP28 summit on Monday in Dubai, he declared, "The cost of transport using alternative energy is declining rapidly." The minister listed a number of obstacles that must be overcome in order to reduce carbon emissions, such as population growth necessitating greater transit usage. According to him, the ecology may occasionally suffer as a result of the development of this industry.

The Saudi Green Initiative—which was introduced by Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister—highlighted the need of putting sustainability front and centre stage in environmental activities as per Al-Jasser.

He mentioned that the National Transport Strategy was created with the lofty objective of reducing emissions by 18% by 2030, and that the Kingdom hopes to cut carbon emissions by around 267 million tonnes by that time.

The minister said that the Kingdom's sustainable transport plans, which are a component of Vision 2030, are almost at completion. The second issue is that, particularly in developing nations, the adoption of low-emission technology requires the construction of expensive infrastructure. Although the shift is sometimes challenging, he stated that the long-term advantages exceed these costs.

Regarding the third difficulty, similar to many of the solutions, like switching from gasoline-powered automobiles to electric vehicles, the output of electrical energy must be increased; this electrical energy must then come from non-fossil sources.

Al-Jasser stated that it is a challenge for the Kingdom to achieve its goal of having 50% of its energy come from renewable sources by 2030. He clarified that while attempts to lower carbon emissions are dependent on the availability of the data needed to implement these initiatives and solutions, the efficacy of these solutions may not always be total.

According to him, the price of electric cars has dropped in some areas to the point where they are now less expensive than vehicles with internal combustion engines. This should encourage people to buy these eco-friendly vehicles in the future.

The minister noted that governments could take steps to pass laws that promote the purchase of these vehicles, and that Saudi Arabia has established a legal framework that backs all initiatives and policies targeted at implementing all technological solutions and transportation-related technologies that lower carbon emissions.

He mentioned that the Kingdom has implemented technology to lessen the need for transport. This is achieved by having many government departments in the Kingdom allow employees to work remotely for a minimum of a few working days each week. This lowers the number of cars and other forms of transport used, which in turn lowers carbon emissions.

The Kingdom is building an integrated public transport network and has reinforced public transport initiatives including Riyadh's bus and metro systems.