Saudi Arabia: Energy Efficiency Center Seeks to Rationalize Consumption

Saudi Arabia: Energy Efficiency Center Seeks to Rationalize Consumption
TT

Saudi Arabia: Energy Efficiency Center Seeks to Rationalize Consumption

Saudi Arabia: Energy Efficiency Center Seeks to Rationalize Consumption

The Saudi Energy Efficiency Center launched on Sunday an awareness campaign aimed at clarifying the importance of rationalizing energy consumption and its optimal use at every moment to ensure its development and sustainability without affecting the welfare of citizens.

The campaign, which is the largest of its kind, follows a series of awareness campaigns that have been launched by the center annually since 2014 as part of its efforts, in cooperation with several government agencies working as one system, to control the increase in energy consumption in the Kingdom under the umbrella of the Saudi Energy Efficiency Program.

The five-week campaign presents energy and consumption changes over the past decades and how to maintain them to achieve many of the current and future positive impacts while consolidating many concepts and behaviors related to rationalizing energy consumption by presenting all the messages and advise provided by previous awareness campaigns to the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center.

This is aimed at raising awareness and changing the behaviors of the people who are consuming energy in order to conserve energy.

The campaign focuses on many of the Center’s initiatives, including capacity development and rehabilitation of local energy efficiency personnel.

It provides information and statistics on energy consumption in the building, land transportation, and industrial sectors and comparisons of the expected savings between the types of cars, in terms of fuel consumption, and air conditioners, in terms of energy consumption.

It also provides the results of censorship rounds that have been carried out at the customs outlets, local factories and the outlets and warehouses during the years 2014 to 2017 in order to apply technical specifications and standards related to energy efficiency.

The campaign aims to reach out to various groups and members of the society in the cities of the Kingdom through the use of all means of communication available, such as newspapers, radio and satellite channels, focusing on social networking.

Those who would like to read more on rationalizing consumption can visit the site of the campaign, “www.taqa.gov.sa”.



UN Launches Cairo Declaration to Address Hunger in Arab Region

Palestinian children wait for food at a distribution center in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian children wait for food at a distribution center in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
TT

UN Launches Cairo Declaration to Address Hunger in Arab Region

Palestinian children wait for food at a distribution center in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian children wait for food at a distribution center in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Rising conflicts, inflation, and climate change have worsened the food crisis in the Arab region, reaching record levels in 2023, according to six UN agencies.

The crisis now affects over 14% of the population, with early signs showing an even greater escalation this year.

To address this, the six UN agencies issued the “Cairo Declaration on Financing Agrifood Systems Transformation in the Near East and North Africa Region” on Wednesday.

The six UN agencies reaffirmed their commitment to working closely with development banks, the private sector, and national governments to boost financial resources for transforming food and agricultural systems in the Arab region, aiming to improve food security and nutrition.

These agencies—FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, and ESCWA—also proposed creating cooperative funding platforms, led by governments and developed with partners, to help meet the second Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger.

The “Cairo Declaration” was issued alongside a joint report titled the 2024 NENA Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition. The report warned that the Arab region is still far from reaching its food security and nutrition targets for 2030.

In 2023, 66.1 million people—14% of the Arab population—were affected by hunger. The report showed that around 186.5 million people (39.4% of the population) faced food insecurity, with 72.7 million suffering from severe food insecurity.

Conflicts remain the main cause of food insecurity and malnutrition in the region, compounded by economic challenges, income inequality, and extreme weather events.

Food prices have worsened the crisis, with malnutrition rates in conflict-affected countries jumping to 26.4% in 2023—four times higher than the 6.6% in stable countries. Ongoing conflicts and droughts are expected to further degrade food security and nutrition.

FAO’s Assistant Director-General and NENA Regional Representative Abdulhakim Elwaer emphasized the need for improved public resource use and additional funding to positively impact food systems in Arab countries.

The agencies stress that the report’s findings will drive efforts to create more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable food systems in the region, benefiting both people and the planet.

Over a third of the Arab population struggles to afford healthy food, with 151.3 million people unable to cover basic nutritional needs. This issue is especially severe in conflict zones, where 41.2% of people can't afford a healthy diet.