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Saudi Projects Worth USD 200 Billion For Climate Protection, Green Transformation

Saudi external support enhances sustainability programs in developing countries. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi external support enhances sustainability programs in developing countries. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Projects Worth USD 200 Billion For Climate Protection, Green Transformation

Saudi external support enhances sustainability programs in developing countries. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi external support enhances sustainability programs in developing countries. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Recent announcements revealed that the Kingdom will pump more than 750 billion riyals (USD 200 billion) in giant projects for green transformation and climate protection, through ambitious plans for afforestation, achieving net-zero emissions, biodiversity and clean energy.

Saudi Arabia participated in the climate summit held in Glasgow with strategic plans amounting to 65 initiatives covering all environmental aspects, at a cost of more than 50 billion riyals (USD 13.3 billion).

The Kingdom aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2060 through the carbon circular economy approach by implementing the first set of the Green Saudi initiatives, with investments exceeding 700 billion riyals (USD 186 billion) to chart a more sustainable future in the country.

The Kingdom’s plans in renewable energy sources include wind and solar energy, two sources that will represent 50 percent of the energy used to produce electricity by 2030. Saudi Arabia will also join the Global Methane Pledge to reduce global emissions by 30 percent compared to their level in 2020.

Saudi Arabia has also established a Council for Royal Reserves to develop natural reserves in six locations in the Kingdom, by raising the percentage of protected areas to more than 30 percent of the country’s land area, which exceeds the current global target to protect 17 percent of each country’s lands.

The Kingdom’s initiatives in the field of climate action include two projects to establish a fund to invest in solutions for circular carbon economy technologies in the region, and a global initiative to provide clean fuel solutions to provide food to more than 750 million people around the world, with a total amount of 39 billion riyals.

In 2015, the Kingdom joined Mission Innovation, which aims to double the funds allocated to research and studies specialized in clean energy, rationalization and efficiency of uses in order to reduce harmful emissions and their impact on climate change through innovative energy technologies.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund has announced that the volume of development loans provided by the Kingdom reached 69 billion riyals (USD 18.4 billion) over 47 years, which helped improve people’s livelihoods in various developing countries and poor communities, revealing a strong support to development sustainability programs.

Saudi Industrial Development Fund CEO Sultan Al-Marshad, said: “Saudi Arabia is one of the largest countries supporting and contributing to achieving the goals of sustainable development thanks to the assistance it provides to developing countries in the form of soft loans.”

He added that since its establishment in 1975 to this day, the Fund has supported 663 projects and 31 development programs, which benefitted 84 countries around the world.

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Turkish Govt Defends Tax Plan to Fund Defense Industry

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye must boost its 'deterrent power' due conflict in the region - AFP
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye must boost its 'deterrent power' due conflict in the region - AFP
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Turkish Govt Defends Tax Plan to Fund Defense Industry

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye must boost its 'deterrent power' due conflict in the region - AFP
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye must boost its 'deterrent power' due conflict in the region - AFP

The Turkish government defended a proposed tax on credit cards on Tuesday, saying it was needed to fund the arms industry and protect the country as conflict rages in its neighbourhood.

Indignant Turks, who already face double-digit inflation, called their banks to lower their credit limits after the ruling AKP party submitted the tax bill to parliament on Friday.

"Our country has no choice but to increase its deterrent power. There's war in our region right now. We are in a troubled neighborhood," Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek told private broadcaster NTV.

The bill stipulates that people with a credit card limit of at least 100,000 liras (nearly $3,000) will have to pay an annual 750 lira ($22) in tax from January to bolster the defense industry.

"The purpose (of the bill) is obvious," Simsek argued.

"If we increase our deterrent power, then our ability to protect against fire in the region will increase," he said, though he added that the bill was in the hands of parliament and the ruling party could "re-evaluate" it.

AKP's parliamentary group chairman, Abdullah Guler, said when he proposed the tax on Friday that Israel's next target would be Türkiye, an argument often cited by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"While we are in the middle of all these hot developments geographically, we need to make our defense industry stronger than ever," Guler said, AFP reported.

- Weapons industry -

A vocal critic of Israel's offensive in Gaza and Lebanon, Erdogan has warned that Israel's military operations could soon target Türkiye, prompting the opposition to demand an emergency session in parliament for the government to elaborate.

Addressing a conference hosted by his AKP party on Tuesday, Erdogan doubled down the threat posed by Israel.

"Even if there are those who cannot see the danger approaching our country... we see the risk and take all kind of measures," he said.

Turkey's defense industry has enjoyed a boom in recent years but Simsek said the sector needed a boost.

The defense industry is planning to invest in 1,000 projects, including a air defense system that would protect Türkiye from missile assaults, Simsek said.

"This requires resources," he added.

Türkiye has allocated 90 billion lira from the budget to fund the defense industry last year, he added.

"This year, we increased it to 165 billion lira. Maybe we will need to double this even more."

Türkiye's defense companies signed contracts in 2023 worth a total of $10.2 billion, according to Haluk Gorgun, the head of Türkiye's state Defense Industry Agency (SSB).

The top 10 Turkish defense exporters contributed nearly 80 percent of total export revenue, he said.

Sales of Turkish Baykar drones, used in Nagorno-Karabakh or Ukraine, amounted to $1.8 billion.

- 'Disguise the Economic Crisis' -

Last week, parliament held behind-closed-doors session for the government to explain why it saw Israel as a potential threat, but the opposition said it was not convinced.

The spokesman for Türkiye's main opposition CHP party, Deniz Yucel, said Monday the government was exploiting national feelings to sweep an "economic crisis" under the rug.

Inflation has spiralled over the past two years, peaking at an annual rate of 85.5 percent in October 2022 and 75.45 percent in May 2023.

Official data showed it slowed to 49.4 percent in September.

"The AKP is trying to create a fake 'foreign threat and war agenda' with the rhetoric of 'Israel may attack us'," Yucel said on Monday.

"We know and see that they are trying to disguise the economic crisis they caused."