China CO2 Emissions Fall for 1st Time Since COVID Rebound

A coal-burning power plant can be seen behind a factory in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, October 31, 2010. REUTERS/David Gray
A coal-burning power plant can be seen behind a factory in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, October 31, 2010. REUTERS/David Gray
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China CO2 Emissions Fall for 1st Time Since COVID Rebound

A coal-burning power plant can be seen behind a factory in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, October 31, 2010. REUTERS/David Gray
A coal-burning power plant can be seen behind a factory in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, October 31, 2010. REUTERS/David Gray

China's carbon emissions fell in the third quarter for the first time since its economic recovery from the coronavirus began, new research shows, partly as a result of a clampdown on property development and widespread coal shortages.

The world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases saw CO2 emissions drop by around 0.5% in July-September from a year earlier, Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst with the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), said.

"The drop in emissions could mark a turning point and an early peak in China's total emissions, years ahead of its target to peak before 2030," Myllyvirta said in a report published on Carbon Brief on Thursday.

The fall marks a turnaround from an approximately 9% increase in emissions in the first half of 2021, when China's post-COVID-19 economic recovery was in full swing with construction and heavy industrial activity, Reuters said.

The last time China's quarterly emissions fell year-on-year was in January-March 2020, when COVID-19 first hit.

Although researchers had pointed out that China's major industries could reach carbon peaks by around 2024 and called for a cap on total emissions by 2025, its top climate negotiators did not make any more ambitious pledges in the UN talks in Glasgow that ended earlier this month.



Saudi Arabia Leads Middle East Venture Capital Investments

The Saudi capital Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi capital Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Leads Middle East Venture Capital Investments

The Saudi capital Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi capital Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The "H1 2025 MENA Venture Investment Report" revealed that Saudi Arabia maintained its first rank across MENA in terms of Venture Capital (VC) funding in H1 2025, witnessing a total VC deployment of $860 Million (SAR 3.2 billion), surpassing the total VC funding of 2024 (full year).

This achievement reflects the development the Kingdom is witnessing in various economic and financial sectors in light of the Saudi Vision 2030 and its goals to strengthen the national economy.

According to the report published by the venture data platform MAGNiTT, the Kingdom captured the highest share of total VC funding in the MENA region in H1 2025, accounting for 56% of the total capital deployed in the region. The report also revealed that Saudi Arabia achieved a record number of 114 VC deals for the first half of 2025.

This confirms the attractiveness of the Saudi market, enhances its competitive environment, and consolidates the strength of the Kingdom's economy as the largest economy in MENA.

Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at SVC, commented: “The Kingdom's leading position in the VC scene in the region comes as a result of many governmental initiatives launched to stimulate the VC and startups ecosystem within the Saudi Vision 2030 programs.”

“We at SVC are committed to continuing to lead the development of the ecosystem by stimulating private investors to provide support for startups and SMEs to be capable of fast and high growth, leading to diversifying the national economy and achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.”

SVC is an investment company established in 2018. It is a subsidiary of the SME Bank, part of the National Development Fund (NDF).

SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for Startups and SMEs from pre-Seed to pre-IPO through investment in funds and direct investment in startups and SMEs.