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Saudi Arabia Stresses Importance of Energy Transition to Address Climate Challenges

Riyadh proceeds with the implementation of the Green Saudi Initiative in support of addressing climate challenges. (SPA)
Riyadh proceeds with the implementation of the Green Saudi Initiative in support of addressing climate challenges. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Stresses Importance of Energy Transition to Address Climate Challenges

Riyadh proceeds with the implementation of the Green Saudi Initiative in support of addressing climate challenges. (SPA)
Riyadh proceeds with the implementation of the Green Saudi Initiative in support of addressing climate challenges. (SPA)

The Saudi Ministry of Energy emphasized the importance of the global energy transition to address climate challenges and the expansion of international cooperation to support sustainable development and the zero emissions target.

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman held a meeting via video conference on Thursday with the Minister of Environment and Climate Action of Portugal, Duarte Cordeiro.

The two officials discussed the importance of supporting the stability of global oil markets by encouraging dialogue and cooperation between producing and consuming countries, and the need to ensure the security of power supply.

The two officials touched on cooperation in various energy fields, such as clean hydrogen and renewable energy, and the security and reliability of electrical systems.

They also underlined their keenness to advance cooperation through the imminent signing of a memorandum of understanding in the field of energy.

The meeting emphasized Saudi Arabia’s reliable role as partner and one of the countries exporting crude oil to Portugal.

The two ministers agreed that energy transition was an important element in addressing energy and climate challenges, noting that this issue would be the focus of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which kicks off on Sunday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

This comes as Saudi Arabia advanced 10 places in the Green Future Index for 2022.

Issued by the MIT Technology Review of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Index highlighted Saudi Arabia’s 10 place advancement, following leading programs and initiatives led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In a report, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) noted that the Kingdom’s rapid progress in the Green Future Index crowns the efforts, programs, and initiatives, which include the Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives (SGI & MGI) and the establishment of royal natural reserves to increase vegetation in the Kingdom.

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Business

US Applications for Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Lowest Level in Nearly a Year

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
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US Applications for Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Lowest Level in Nearly a Year

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

US applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in nearly a year last week, pointing to a still healthy labor market with historically low layoffs.

The Labor Department on Wednesday said that applications for jobless benefits fell to 201,000 for the week ending January 4, down from the previous week's 211,000. This week's figure is the lowest since February of last year.

The four-week average of claims, which evens out the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 10,250 to 213,000.

The overall numbers receiving unemployment benefits for the week of December 28 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 33,000 from the previous week, according to The AP.

The US job market has cooled from the red-hot stretch of 2021-2023 when the economy was rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns.

Through November, employers added an average of 180,000 jobs a month in 2024, down from 251,000 in 2023, 377,000 in 2022 and a record 604,000 in 2021. Still, even the diminished job creation is solid and a sign of resilience in the face of high interest rates.

When the Labor Department releases hiring numbers for December on Friday, they’re expected to show that employers added 160,000 jobs last month.

On Tuesday, the government reported that US job openings rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still looking for workers even as the labor market has loosened. Openings rose to 8.1 million in November, the most since February and up from 7.8 million in October,

The weekly jobless claims numbers are a proxy for layoffs, and those have remained below pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate is at a modest 4.2%, though that is up from a half century low 3.4% reached in 2023.

To fight inflation that hit four-decade highs two and a half years ago, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023. Inflation came down — from 9.1% in mid-2022 to 2.7% in November, allowing the Fed to start cutting rates. But progress on inflation has stalled in recent months, and year-over-year consumer price increases are stuck above the Fed’s 2% target.

In December, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate for the third time in 2024, but the central bank’s policymakers signaled that they’re likely to be more cautious about future rate cuts. They projected just two in 2025, down from the four they had envisioned in September.