Saudi Arabia and the United States have agreed to confront the mounting climate challenges. They also agreed to implement the Paris Agreement and work on bolstering efforts at the upcoming G20 summit scheduled for Glasgow.
They also expressed support for supporting the Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives.
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry held talks in Riyadh on Wednesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and five Saudi ministers. They are Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir, Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Environment and Water Abdulrahman al-Fadley and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Amer Al-Swaha.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, a State Department spokesperson said the world was witnessing a severe climate change crisis. The situation is dire in the Middle East in particular due to rising temperatures, desertification, drought and other climate factors.
The Biden administration has vowed to work on a comprehensive strategy, that includes the government, industry, financial and social society sectors, to push forward measures to ease and adapt to climate change.
The US encourages and supports Saudi Arabia’s efforts and plans in the climate sector and in preserving the environment, he added.
It also encourages all other partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council to connect their plans to ease and adapt to climate with broader regional plans and visions, he continued.
He pledged that Washington will continue to partner with them in these efforts, which is an important way to speed up climate ambition and constructive regional cooperation.
A joint statement at the end of Kerry’s visit said that the United States and Saudi Arabia “are committed to addressing the increasing climate change challenge with seriousness and urgency.”
“They will work to strengthen the implementation of the Paris Agreement and actively promote a successful G20 in Italy and COP 26 in Glasgow. Both countries affirm the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking adaptation actions during the 2020s to avoid the worst consequences of climate change,” it added.
“They affirmed their intention to work together:
“To actively support and engage bilaterally on the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, including on clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and land use;
“To advance efforts under the announced Net-Zero Producers Forum, including, e.g., on methane abatement, the circular carbon economy, and clean-energy and carbon capture and storage technologies;
“To cooperate on the potential of clean hydrogen to address the hardest to abate sectors and to partner to accelerate clean hydrogen’s development and deployment, recognizing the two countries’ respective initiatives in this regard;
“To collaborate on accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and low-emissions power systems in the region;
“To encourage private sector partnerships;
“To support ocean-based and nature-based solutions for addressing both mitigation and adaptation; and to launch cooperation on enhancing climate change research in the areas of mitigation and adaptation,” it said.
“Recalling their fruitful, in-depth discussion on their respective ongoing and future climate initiatives, both sides acknowledge each other’s efforts and look forward to engaging with each other and enhancing their actions on to road to Glasgow and beyond,” said the statement.
US President Joe Biden convened 40 world leaders in a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate in April 2021 to rally the world in tackling the climate crisis and meeting the demands of science. Leaders from around the Arab world, including Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, took part in the event.
The US pledged at the summit to reduce carbon emissions between 50 and 52 percent by 2030. Since coming to office, Biden has set climate as a priority for his administration.
The Saudi and American climate goals appear to align, especially after Saudi initiatives to preserve the environment, such as the Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives, were announced by Crown Prince Mohammed.
