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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Increase Reliance on Renewable Energy

Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
    Sakaka - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Increase Reliance on Renewable Energy

Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Prince Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, governor of Al-Jouf region (northern Saudi Arabia), revealed efforts to provide innovative technical solutions for the production of renewable energy with high economic efficiency, to meet energy and water needs.

Addressing the opening session of the Renewable Energy Conference at Al-Jouf University on Sunday, Prince Faisal bin Nawaf pointed to Saudi Arabia’s endeavor to address obstacles facing the use of renewable energy, stressing that the conference was aimed at raising awareness among community members on the importance to rely on clean sources of energy.

He also underlined to need to support research in order to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 in the field of energy and sustainability.

For his part, Dr. Muhammad Al-Shaya, President of Al-Jouf University, said that the region of Al-Jouf has set a strategic goal to achieve the goals of Vision 2030, by contributing to the transition towards renewable energy.

Eng. Nasser Al-Qahtani, Assistant Minister of Energy for Electricity Affairs, stated that the conference highlighted the Kingdom’s support for renewable energy projects, based on Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify energy sources.

Al-Qahtani added that Al-Jouf was home to the Kingdom’s first renewable energy projects that are connected to the electrical grid. The Sakaka solar photovoltaic project, which has a capacity of 300 megawatts, and Dumat Al-Jandal for wind energy, with a capacity of 400 megawatts, have been put into operation and connected to the public electrical grid.

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UN Predicts World Economic Growth to Remain at 2.8% in 2025

A vegetable vendor sits beside a bonfire on his handcart on a cold winter evening in New Delhi on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)
A vegetable vendor sits beside a bonfire on his handcart on a cold winter evening in New Delhi on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)
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UN Predicts World Economic Growth to Remain at 2.8% in 2025

A vegetable vendor sits beside a bonfire on his handcart on a cold winter evening in New Delhi on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)
A vegetable vendor sits beside a bonfire on his handcart on a cold winter evening in New Delhi on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)

Global economic growth is projected to remain at 2.8% in 2025, unchanged from 2024, held back by the top two economies, the US and China, according to a United Nations report released on Thursday.

The World Economic Situation and Prospects report said that "positive but somewhat slower growth forecasts for China and the United States" will be complemented by modest recoveries in the European Union, Japan, and Britain and robust performance in some large developing economies, notably India and Indonesia.

"Despite continued expansion, the global economy is projected to grow at a slower pace than the 2010–2019 (pre-pandemic) average of 3.2%," according to the report by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

"This subdued performance reflects ongoing structural challenges such as weak investment, slow productivity growth, high debt levels, and demographic pressures," Reuters quoted it as saying.

The report said US growth was expected to moderate from 2.8% last year to 1.9% in 2025 as the labor market softens and consumer spending slows.

It said growth in China was estimated at 4.9% for 2024 and projected to be 4.8% this year with public sector investments and a strong export performance partly offset by subdued consumption growth and lingering property sector weakness.
Europe was expected to recover modestly with growth increasing from 0.9% in 2024 to 1.3% in 2025, "supported by easing inflation and resilient labor markets," the report said.

South Asia is expected to remain the world’s fastest-growing region, with regional GDP projected to expand by 5.7% in 2025 and 6% in 2026, supported by a strong performance by India and economic recoveries in Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the report said.

India, the largest economy in South Asia, is forecast to grow by 6.6% in 2025 and 6.8% in 2026, driven by robust private consumption and investment.
The report said major central banks are likely to further reduce interest rates in 2025 as inflationary pressures ease. Global inflation is projected to decline from 4% in 2024 to 3.4% in 2025, offering some relief to households and businesses.
It calls for bold multilateral action to tackle interconnected crises, including debt, inequality, and climate change.
"Monetary easing alone will not be sufficient to reinvigorate global growth or address widening disparities," the report added.