Saudi Arabia Steps up ‘Climate Battle’ Efforts

Part of the audience in the Saudi pavilion at the COP27 conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Part of the audience in the Saudi pavilion at the COP27 conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Steps up ‘Climate Battle’ Efforts

Part of the audience in the Saudi pavilion at the COP27 conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Part of the audience in the Saudi pavilion at the COP27 conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi pavilion at COP27 was one of the most crowded places during the days of the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Visitors did not only attend seminars and discussion sessions, they also met researchers who have introduced programs directed to combating climate change to light.

While Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman was active in leading the Saudi delegation during the days of his presence, which witnessed the launch of many Saudi-sponsored initiatives to confront climate change, researchers enriched the sessions with a lot of technical information on the nature and details of the initiatives.

During the summit, Prince Abdulaziz referred to many initiatives and concepts.

Those initiatives included the establishment of a regional center for the development of reducing emissions, and the launching of the Circular Carbon Economy Knowledge Hub at the beginning of 2023.

He also stressed the need to consolidate the circular carbon economy.

For his part, the Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chairman of Saudi Aramco, Yasir Al Rumayyan, said that Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) is a turning point in environmental efforts aiming to transition national ambitions into practical steps that affect the entire world.

Al Rumayyan underlined the great efforts being made by the Kingdom to build a green future, as part of its ambitions for carbon neutrality by 2060.

The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) Initiative was the first of its kind in the MENA region, Al Rumayyan said during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum.

The world’s largest-ever carbon credit auction took place last month, when 1.4 million tons of carbon credits were sold to 15 Saudi and regional entities. The PIF was also the first sovereign wealth fund to issue a 100-year tranche green bond, Al Rumayyan added.



French People Need to Work More to Boost Growth, Minister Says

French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
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French People Need to Work More to Boost Growth, Minister Says

French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)

People in France must work more, Finance Minister Antoine Armand said on Monday, adding that the fact that French people worked less than their counterparts in Europe was harming the economy due to lower tax contributions and social security payments.

The government is examining reforms to speed up its sluggish economic growth, although changes to work practices are often opposed by trade unions.

"On average, a French person works clearly less than his neighbors, over the course of a year," Armand told C News TV.

"The consequence of this is fewer social security payments, less money to finance our social models, fewer tax receipts and ultimately fewer jobs and less economic growth."

France, the euro zone's second biggest economy, wants to cut its public deficit to a targeted 5% of GDP by 2025.

The country's 35-hour work week, introduced in 2000, has typically been fiercely defended by trade unions, while reforms to France's pension system have also faced widespread protests.

"Let's all work a bit more, collectively speaking, starting off by making sure that everyone respects the working hours that they have been given, in all sectors," Armand said.