São Paulo – Saudi Arabia announced two big projects to tackle climate change, the Green Saudi and Green Middle East initiatives, which are set to be the world’s biggest afforestation project, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman announced last week.
The government aims to plant 10 billion trees in Saudi Arabia and 40 billion in the Middle East and eliminate more than 130 million tons of carbon emissions in the Arab country, reducing it by more than 60% in the region. The launched projects provide for the restoring 40 million hectares of degraded land in Saudi Arabia and 200 million in the Middle East.
Saudi newspaper Arab News reported in its website the tree-planting area will be double the size of the Great Green Wall in the Sahel region, the second-biggest regional afforestation initiative.
“As a leading global oil producer, we are fully aware of our responsibility in advancing the fight against the climate crisis, and that just as we played a leading role in stabilizing energy markets during the oil and gas era, we will work to lead the coming green era,” prince Salman said.
In Saudi Arabia, in addition to raise vegetation cover, reducing carbon emission and halting land degradation, the green initiative will also focus in preserving marine life and increasing the percentage of protected land. Compared to now, the tree planting is expected to raise the vegetation cover by 12 times.
The Middle East Green Initiative will be a joint effort with neighboring countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council composed by Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, as well as other Middle East nations. Saudi Arabia said it will work with these countries to transfer knowledge and share experiences to reduce carbon emissions.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
