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Saudi Green Building Forum Launches Roadmap to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The High-Level Political Forum of the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations in New York (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The High-Level Political Forum of the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations in New York (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Green Building Forum Launches Roadmap to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The High-Level Political Forum of the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations in New York (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The High-Level Political Forum of the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations in New York (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Green Building Forum launched a roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, which is being held in New York from July 8-18.

“The commitment to sustainable practices and green business initiatives is crucial for achieving the goals outlined in the ‘Urgent Green Actions for Global Agenda 2030,’” said Faisal Al-Fadl, Secretary-General of the Saudi Green Building Forum.

He added: “We emphasize this commitment on sustainable practices and green initiatives that play a vital role in creating a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future.”

According to Al-Fadl, in 2022, buildings were responsible for 34 percent of global energy demand, 37 percent of carbon dioxide emissions related to energy and operations, and about 21 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, while investment in building decarbonization exceeded the amount of USD285 billion, with expectations of a lower cost in the future.

“We recognize the role of green building standards and certifications as a tool for shaping policies to support the elimination of carbon emissions across the life cycle of buildings and setting building renovation priorities,” he stated, underlining a firm commitment to sustainability through advocacy, collaboration and practical action, “paving the way towards a more resilient, equitable and sustainable built environment.”

The United Nations stressed the importance of partnerships in achieving the sustainable development goals, while the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan, which Saudi Arabia adopted with all 193 United Nations member states in 2015, stipulated that the goals cannot be achieved without partnerships.

According to the UN Political Forum, the UN agenda recognizes that governments alone cannot confront the global challenges set forth in the Sustainable Development Goals, and that cooperation across sectors is essential. In this context, the “Saudi Green Building Forum” has strengthened its role as an observer at the United Nations, in shaping the UN climate and environmental response.

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Expert: Türkiye Anti-inflation Steps Don’t Go Far Enough

People shop at a bazaar in Istanbul. Reuters
People shop at a bazaar in Istanbul. Reuters
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Expert: Türkiye Anti-inflation Steps Don’t Go Far Enough

People shop at a bazaar in Istanbul. Reuters
People shop at a bazaar in Istanbul. Reuters

Although Turkish inflation slowed in September, it is still raging out of control with the government avoiding difficult decisions that could help tackle it, experts told AFP.

Türkiye has experienced spiraling inflation the past two years, peaking at an annual rate of 85.5 percent in October 2022 and 75.45 percent in May.

The government claims it slowed to 49.4 percent in September.

But the figures are disputed by the ENAG group of independent economists who estimate that year-on-year inflation stood at 88.6 percent in September.

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said Ankara was hoping to bring inflation down to 17.6 percent by the end of 2025 and to “single digits” by 2026.

And President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently hailed Türkiye’s success in “starting the process of permanent disinflation.”

“The hard times are behind us,” he said.

But economists interviewed by AFP said the surge in consumer prices in Türkiye had become “chronic” and is being exacerbated by some government policies.

“The current drop is simply due to a base effect. The price rises over the course of a month is still high, at 2.97 percent across Türkiye and 3.9 percent in Istanbul.

“You can’t call this a success story,” said Mehmet Sisman, economics professor at Istanbul’s Marmara University.

Spurning conventional economic practice of raising interest rates to curb inflation, Erdogan has long defended a policy of lowering rates. That has sent the lira sliding, further fueling inflation.

But after his reelection in May 2023, he gave Türkiye’s Central Bank free rein to raise its main interest rate from 8.5 to 50 percent between June 2023 and March 2024.

The central bank’s rate remained unchanged in September for the sixth consecutive month.

“The fight against inflation revolves around the priorities of the financial sector. As a result, it is done indirectly and generates uncertainty,” explained Erinc Yeldan, economics professor at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.

But raising interest rates alone is not enough to steady inflation without addressing massive budget deficits, according to Yakup Kucukkale, an economics professor at Karadeniz Technical University.

He pointed to Türkiye’s record budget deficit of 129.6 billion lira (3.45 billion euros).

“Simsek says this is due to expenditure linked to the reconstruction in regions hit by the February 2023 earthquake,” he said of the disaster that killed more than 53,000 people.

“But the real black hole is due to the costly public-private partnership contracts,” he said, referring to infrastructure contracts which critics say are often awarded to firms close to Erdogan’s government.

Such contracts cover construction and management of everything from motorways and bridges to hospitals and airports, and are often accompanied by generous guarantees such as state compensation in the event they are underused.

“We should question these contracts, which are a burden on the budget because this compensation is indexed to the dollar or the euro,” said Kucukkale.

Anti-inflation measures also tend to impact low-income households at a time when the minimum wage hasn’t been raised since January, he said.

“But these people already have little purchasing power. To lower demand, such measures must target higher-income groups, but there is hardly anything affecting them,” he said.