Saudi Green Initiative aims to achieve the countrys climate ambitions of reaching zero neutrality by 2060

The Saudi Green Initiative was established in 2021 to help the nation meet its climate goals of being carbon neutral by 2060, according to a Monday announcement made by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Saudi Minister of Energy. While inaugurating the third edition of the Saudi Green Initiative 2023 (SGI) Forum in Dubai on Monday, he stated that “Within this initiative, the Kingdom is committed to reducing 278 million tons of carbon emissions annually by 2030.”

According to Prince Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia demonstrated its extreme eagerness and diligent efforts to realise those goals with relation to renewable energy during the previous SGI forum session during "COP27," which was hosted in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and during the current "COP28," which is being held in Dubai.

According to Prince Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia's activities serve as models for all technologies and solutions, which aligns with the Paris Agreement's bottom-up methodology. The Saudi minister said that the nation is moving towards eliminating the burning of one thousand barrels of oil for fuel. It also plans to construct eight four gigawatt gas power plants with carbon sequestration and four gas power plants with a capacity of 4.6 gigawatts each. He made the announcement that the Kingdom will construct seven gigawatt-plus power plants in addition to its ongoing efforts to promote energy efficiency and develop energy-efficient mobility.

According to the minister, among these measures, carbon capture and storage have significantly improved.

Under Prince Abdulaziz's leadership, Saudi Arabia hopes to become a key player in the global green hydrogen export market, given that the NEOM Project has finished its first phase and raised $8.5 billion in financing. He noted that the Kingdom is forming international alliances to build other green hydrogen projects in the nation in addition to hydrogen mobility options, such as trains, and that this project would produce 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia yearly.

The minister stated that at the G20 summit discussions in India, Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding for the economic corridor connecting India, the Middle East, and Europe in an effort to further its goal of exporting clean, green power and hydrogen.

At the recent Saudi-African summit in Riyadh, Prince Abdulaziz emphasised that Saudi Arabia had announced the allocation of $50 billion. He said this would support resilient infrastructure and address climate and adaptation issues on the African continent, working directly with Saudi partners to ensure project implementation that is appropriate. The minister also mentioned another significant project that the Kingdom is supporting: clean fuel alternatives for cooking.

The Green Middle East Initiative, launched by Saudi Arabia in 2021, has been carrying out projects in Asian and African nations. It also provides training and awareness-raising support to governments, and it includes support for cooking kits that help small farm owners find solutions to ensure the safe and clean use of cooking plans across important applications using solar and liquid gas energy.

The third SGI Forum edition, according to Prince Abdulaziz, has a packed programme that covers climate action, opportunities and challenges, and innovations. The event will highlight the efforts and projects undertaken by Saudi Arabia under SGI, which was established in 2021 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to advance sustainability and lessen climate change.

The ambition of the Kingdom to become a major exporter of green hydrogen was also disclosed by the minister.

He stated that Saudi Arabia is working to enhance innovation and use a wide range of technologies to reap the benefits of economic prosperity and secure access to affordable energy in a more sustainable future for all while addressing the fundamental challenges of climate change.