by: Arab News:
Riyadh: Two high-profile green forums spearheaded by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will take place in November alongside the UN’s flagship climate change summit to be held in Egypt.
The Crown Prince has announced the second edition of the Middle East Green Initiative Summit and the Saudi Green Initiative Forum will be held in Sharm El Sheikh in tandem with the global Climate Change Conference, known as COP27.
The MGI Summit will be held on Nov. 7, while the SGI Forum will be held on Nov. 11-12. “I would like to thank His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the Egyptian government for hosting the MGI Summit and SGI Forum in Egypt this year. We are holding them in tandem with COP27, an event bringing nations from around the world together under one roof, to advance global climate ambitions by inspiring joint activity at the local, regional, and international levels,” the crown prince said.
“Our partnership with Egypt reflects a shared belief in the importance of collaborative action to address the environmental and climate challenges facing the region and the world today,” he added. The MGI Summit is a strategic regional platform that promotes cross-border cooperation, knowledge exchange and discussion between heads of state, relevant government ministers and policymakers.
The second edition of the SGI Forum meanwhile, will convene an elite lineup of climate experts and thought leaders to discuss the progress that has been made towards achieving the climate targets announced by the Kingdom last year. The theme of this year’s forum, ‘From ambition to action’, reflects Saudi Arabia’s determination to turn these targets into reality by catalyzing collective action to confront climate challenges that impact the entire world, according to a press release.
MGI and SGI were launched by the Crown Prince in 2021 to enhance Saudi Arabia’s environmental action, in line with the Kingdom’s Saudi Vision 2030. The Crown Prince used the opening of the first SGI Forum in October 2021 to announce the Kingdom aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2060 through the Carbon Circular Economy approach.
It was also confirmed that the Kingdom will plant 10 billion trees across the country and designate 30 percent of the country’s land and sea territories as protected areas during the coming decades.
In addition, Saudi Arabia has committed to reducing carbon emissions by 278 million tons annually by 2030, SPA reported. The national goals contribute to achieving regional targets set out by the Kingdom at the MGI Summit.
These focus on reducing regional carbon emissions by more than 10 percent of global contributions and planting 50 billion trees across the region as part of the world’s largest afforestation program.
