Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud revealed at the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) that the worlds largest oil exporter was aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2060
The world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia has announced its aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060.
The net zero target was revealed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud at the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) in Riyadh on 23 October.
The Saudi crown prince revealed that the kingdom would achieve its net zero target by 2060 through the Carbon Circular Economy approach. The Carbon Circular Economy approach generally refers to a strategy of achieving net-zero through an effective carbon management solution, including for example carbon capture, in addition to renewables and electrification.
Bin Salman revealed that initial net zero initiatives would represent US$186bn of investments to contribute to the growth of a green economy in the country.
As part of the first steps to reaching net zero, the kingdom has set a target to reduce carbon emissions by 278 Mtpa by 2030, the crown prince revealed.
The revised 2030 target more than doubles the target set for this period at the announcement of the Saudi Green Initiative earlier in 2021.
Saudi Arabia will also join the Global Methane Pledge to cut global methane emissions by 30% by 2030 as part of its commitment to deliver cleaner energy.
Initiatives set out by the crown prince as initial steps to reaching set zero include planting 450 million trees and rehabilitating 8 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, which will reduce carbon emissions by 200 million tonnes.
Bin Salman revealed that Saudi Arabia was joining the Global Ocean Alliance, establishing the Ocean Exploration Foundation, and developing a Global Centre for Tourism Sustainability to play a part in the kingdom?s roadmap to achieving net zero.
