Desalination Reduces Carbon Emissions by 22% of Saudi Arabia’s Total Targets

SWCC aims to strengthen its global leadership in the desalination industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
SWCC aims to strengthen its global leadership in the desalination industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Desalination Reduces Carbon Emissions by 22% of Saudi Arabia’s Total Targets

SWCC aims to strengthen its global leadership in the desalination industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
SWCC aims to strengthen its global leadership in the desalination industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) announced on Thursday that it has succeeded in curbing carbon dioxide emissions by 28 million tons annually, which represents 22 percent of the Kingdom’s total target for the year 2030.

Eng. Mamdouh Al-Shuaiby, Executive Manager of Industrial Security and Environment at the SWCC, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the corporation would gradually dispense with thermal desalination plants and replace them with environmentally-friendly reverse osmosis (RO) technology.

He noted that a new initiative was launched in coordination with the Water Transport and Technology Company to raise the level of environmental commitment in water transmission systems, by developing an environmental management system and relevant construction and operational licenses.

Shuaiby emphasized that the RO system was one of the best eco-friendly technologies for not involving burning processes and emissions. He said that the corporation was working on developing a system that absorbs gases emitted from chimneys and converts them into investment products.

In a statement, the SWCC said it has invested its engineering and research expertise to expand the design innovation, implementation and supply of the new high-efficiency desalination plant that consumes less energy and is more flexible in operation and mobility.

SWCC said it aims to “strengthen its global leadership in the desalination industry, continue its plans to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and enable local content in all its current and future development projects.”



WTO Slashes 2025 Trade Growth Forecast

Chinese made cars, including Volvo and other brands, are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on April 16, 2025, as they wait to be loaded onto ships for export. (Photo by AFP)
Chinese made cars, including Volvo and other brands, are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on April 16, 2025, as they wait to be loaded onto ships for export. (Photo by AFP)
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WTO Slashes 2025 Trade Growth Forecast

Chinese made cars, including Volvo and other brands, are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on April 16, 2025, as they wait to be loaded onto ships for export. (Photo by AFP)
Chinese made cars, including Volvo and other brands, are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on April 16, 2025, as they wait to be loaded onto ships for export. (Photo by AFP)

The World Trade Organization sharply cut its forecast for global merchandise trade from solid growth to a decline on Wednesday, saying further US tariffs and spillover effects could lead to the heaviest slump since the height of the COVID pandemic.
The WTO said it expected trade in goods to fall by 0.2% this year, down from its expectation in October of 3.0% expansion. It said its new estimate was based on measures in place at the start of this week, Reuters reported.
US President Donald Trump imposed extra duties on steel and car imports as well as more sweeping global tariffs before unexpectedly pausing higher duties on a dozen economies. His trade war with China has also intensified with tit-for-tat exchanges pushing levies on each other's imports beyond 100%.
The WTO said that, if Trump reintroduced the full rates of his broader tariffs that would reduce goods trade growth by 0.6 percentage points, with another 0.8 point cut due to spillover effects beyond US-linked trade.
Taken together, this would lead to a 1.5% decline, the steepest drop since 2020.
"The unprecedented nature of the recent trade policy shifts means that predictions should be interpreted with more caution than usual," said the WTO, which is also forecasting a modest recovery of 2.5% in 2026.
Earlier on Wednesday, the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) agency said global economic growth could slow to 2.3% as trade tensions and uncertainty drive a recessionary trend.
The Geneva-based WTO said disruption of US-China trade was expected to increase Chinese merchandise exports across all regions outside North America by between 4% and 9%.
Other countries would have opportunities to fill the gap in the United States in sectors such as textiles, clothing and electrical equipment.
Services trade, though not subject to tariffs, would also take a hit, the WTO said, by weakening demand related to goods trade such as transport and logistics. Broader uncertainty could dampen spending on travel and investment-related services.
The WTO said it expected commercial services trade to grow by 4.0% in 2025 and 4.1% in 2026, well below baseline projections of 5.1% and 4.8%.
The expected downturn follows a strong 2024, when the volume of world merchandise trade grew by 2.9% and commercial services trade expanded by 6.8%.