Alfadley: Saudi Arabia is Steadily Moving towards Planting 600 Million Trees by 2030

A planted field in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Reuters)
A planted field in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Reuters)
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Alfadley: Saudi Arabia is Steadily Moving towards Planting 600 Million Trees by 2030

A planted field in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Reuters)
A planted field in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Reuters)

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Alfadley, took part in the third edition of the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, held concurrently with COP28 in Dubai.
Eng. Alfadley said that Saudi Arabia is steadily moving towards achieving the targets of the Saudi Green Initiative in planting around 600 million trees by 2030, and 10 billion trees across the Kingdom during the coming decades.

According to SPA, he clarified that the third edition of the Saudi Green Initiative Forum is to continue the achievements of past projects and initiatives initiated since the first edition in Riyadh.

The Saudi Green Initiative has 80 initiatives, and since its adoption, 43 of these initiatives have been launched to meet its primary objectives. Notably, 43.9 million trees have been planted across the Kingdom, and 940,000 hectares of degraded lands have been rehabilitated. Furthermore, a 300% increase in production capacity for reducing carbon emissions as well as the production capacity of renewable energy projects has exceeded 8 gigawatts.

He concluded that the Kingdom's strategy for afforestation is grounded in the principle of sustainability. The strategy focuses on utilizing renewable water sources. Additionally, the Kingdom aims to use cutting-edge technologies to enhance these initiatives.



Southern China Suspends Ferry Services as Storm Brings Winds, High Waters to Coastal Regions

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
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Southern China Suspends Ferry Services as Storm Brings Winds, High Waters to Coastal Regions

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)

Parts of coastal southern China suspended ferry services as a major storm passed into the South China Sea, bringing high winds and heavy waves to much of the region.

The storm was downgraded Wednesday from Typhoon Man-yi, which left seven dead in the Philippines and worsened the crisis caused by back-to-back storms that battered the disaster-prone nation.

It is now categorized as a low-pressure area lingering south of China’s Hainan Island, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, which said its maximum sustained winds were a relatively mild 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour.

Climatologists have predicted a greater frequency of such storms, but better preparedness and early warning systems in the Asia Pacific nations most affected have helped mitigate some of the most dire consequences.

Higher sea temperatures caused by a warming climate are increasing the amount of moisture in the air and extending the typhoon season from its usual annual end point of September. Europe, particularly Spain, and the southeastern United States have also experienced devastating storms in recent weeks.