MENA Climate Week Kicks off in Riyadh

The second-ever Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Climate Week kicked off Sunday in Riyadh in cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat.

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman inaugurated the event in the presence of several global officials, policymakers, private sector firms, youth campaigners, and other key stakeholders in the climate change and sustainability sphere.

Prince Abdulaziz asserted the need to work hard and ensure the success of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai next November, announcing that the second day of the event will witness the unveiling of a credible, transparent, and adaptable domestic market mechanism.

The Minister also declared that Saudi Arabia will soon have the first hydrogen-powered train in the Middle East.

The Saudi government will host the event between October 8 and 12 in the Boulevard Riyadh City to shed light on challenges and solutions in a region that is among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Participants in Riyadh will speak about the challenges and opportunities for climate action and support in the MENA region, which will help inform the global stocktake and accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Saudi Arabia is one of the most active countries on climate change, making it a new green giant with an influential and clear role in confronting this global battle.

The Kingdom launched several initiatives, plans, and programs towards achieving zero neutrality by 2060.

The event aims to enhance joint action towards adopting sustainable and integrated climate solutions, accomplish the collective mission of confronting climate challenges, and achieve the Paris Agreement's goals.

The event will include three ministerial sessions and a regional dialogue on climate change. The first session will address enhancing comprehensive participation and the circular carbon economy to achieve fair and equitable energy transitions.

The second session will discuss comprehensive financial and economic diversification towards achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

The third session will discuss efforts to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees.

The event will also witness a GCC Roundtable Meeting of ministers concerned and an Arab League Roundtable, which will discuss expectations of COP28.

The activities of the rest of the week will witness the launch of the four tracks of dialogue in this regard, in a joint effort between the Saudi Energy Ministry, the Secretariat of the UNFCCC, and the UN Climate Change Pioneers.

The tracks are: the energy systems and industry; the cities, urban and rural settlements, infrastructure, and transport; land, ocean, food, and water; and societies, health, livelihoods, and economies.

The week's program will include many climate activities, meetings, and accompanying exhibitions that discuss issues of the environment, climate, and sustainability, and various programs and events that add cultural and social dimensions to the week's activities.

Notably, the event aims to discuss issues, challenges, and opportunities related to climate change and express opinions on them, to be addressed at COP28.

MENA Climate Week is the second of four Regional Climate Weeks in 2023.

UN Climate Change organizes it with global partners UN Development Program, UN Environment Program, and the World Bank Group. Partners based in MENA include the International Renewable Energy Agency, the Islamic Development Bank, the League of Arab States Secretariat, and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

Saudi Arabia intensified efforts to combat climate change, notably in 2021 when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the goal of achieving net-zero emissions through a circular carbon economy approach aligned with developmental plans and economic diversification.

The Crown Prince stressed that this approach aligns with a "moving baseline" and preserves the Kingdom's leadership role in enhancing the stability and security of global energy markets while leveraging mature technologies for emissions management and reduction.

Taiwan officials held their first tariff talks with US officials on Friday, with both sides looking forward to further discussions soon, the island's government said on Saturday.

While Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer facing tariffs of 32%, complained they were unfair, it moved quickly to lay out proposals with the United States, offering a zero-tariff regime and greater purchases and investments in the country.

In a statement, Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations said its officials held a video conference with US officials whom it did not identify.

The talks focused on reciprocal tariffs between Taiwan and the United States, non-tariff barriers to trade, and a number of other economic and trade issues, including export controls, it added.

"Both sides look forward to conducting follow-up consultations ... in the near future and jointly building a strong and stable economic and trade relationship between Taiwan and the United States," it said.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of Washington work hours.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries, while further ramping up pressure on China.

Home to the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, Taiwan has long sought a free trade deal with the United States, its most important international backer and arms supplier, even though the two have no formal diplomatic ties.

Taiwan faces increasing military and political pressure from its giant neighbor China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory.

Taiwan's government rejects those claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.

MENA Climate Week Kicks off in Riyadh