Middle East Green Initiative launches initiatives worth 10.4 billion to combat climate change

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia launched the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit here on Monday. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced two initiatives at the cost of 10,39 billion dollars to combat climate change, out of which Saudi Arabia will contribute about 15 per cent of the entire cost, Arab News reported.

Prince Salman said that those gathered at the summit would coordinate efforts to protect the environment and confront climate change. They will raise a regional roadmap to reduce carbon emissions in the region by more than 10 per cent of global contribution. They will plant 50 billion trees in the region through the largest tree-planting program in the world, aiming at 5 per cent of the global target for afforestation, he said.

Prince Salman further announced that Saudi would establish an investment fund for the carbon economy solutions in the region and an initiative for clean fuel solutions to feed more than 750 million people globally. The Kingdom will build a regional programme to reduce carbon emissions under MGI and a cooperation platform to implement the concept of a "circular carbon economy". It will also establish a regional hub of climate change, develop a regional centre for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage. Regional centres for early storm warnings, sustainable development of fisheries and cloud seeding programmes will also be established. He said that there are gaps in the regional climate action system, but through coordinating regional efforts and sharing experiences and technologies, achievements in every initiative could be accelerated.

Representatives of different countries are attending the MGI, such as Crown Prince of Jordan Hussein bin Abdullah II, the US's first Special Envoy for climate John Kerry and Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan.