Climate change is an existential issue for some countries and of no value to others. G20 countries, however, under the presidency of Saudi Arabia, joined efforts to address climate change challenges that arise from continued population growth and increased emissions.
The G20 countries are responsible for around 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 85% of global GDP.
The challenge of preserving the world from the worst possible climate change scenarios was made harder after the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and China becoming the world’s top polluter.
It goes without saying that Saudi Arabia spends considerable effort into promoting the adoption of a Carbon Circular Economy (CCE) as a mean to lower and recycle carbon emissions.
Saudi oil giant Aramco exported the world's first shipment of blue ammonia for use in carbon-free power generation.
At the 2020 G20 Riyadh summit, G20 leaders were brought to acknowledge the pressing need for reducing environmental degradation, preserving biodiversity, achieving sustainable use of natural resources, conserving oceans, encouraging availability of clean air and water, dealing with natural disasters and extreme weather phenomena, and tackling climate change.
“We strengthen our resolve to conserve our marine and terrestrial environment in advance of the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). We launch the Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform to conserve coral reefs and the Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats to prevent, halt, and reverse land degradation,” G20 leaders said in their final communique.
Qassim University climate professor Abdullah al-Misnad stressed that global warming, which is leading to climate change on planet earth, is a universal and international issue.
“The world has come to the conviction that the climate has indeed changed, and this change and transformation is caused by man and his urban activities. This conviction - in and of itself - is a gain and a positive step forward,” al-Misnad told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Successive conferences and meetings discussing climate change are seeking to limit the rise in the average global temperature by reducing the amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, methane and others,” he added.
