The Middle East and North Africa Climate Week 2023 concluded on Thursday in Riyadh, with successful discussions and ideas that pave the way for solutions for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will be held late next month in Dubai.
The international event witnessed the largest attendance ever at the regional climate weeks held by the United Nations globally, with the participation of more than 9,000 people of 137 different nationalities, who were present at more than 240 dialogue sessions.
With the conclusion of the conference, Saudi Arabia affirmed its readiness to maintain the momentum and promote comprehensive climate action.
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman inaugurated the event on Sunday, presenting an overview of the progress achieved in the region and in Saudi Arabia in particular.
The Climate Week saw the announcement of comprehensive programs and offered a platform for sharing ideas and solutions related to climate action. In this context, three important initiatives were announced, all of which seek to advance global climate goals.
Those include a market mechanism to compensate and balance greenhouse gases (carbon equivalents) in the Kingdom, a roadmap for the Saudi Green Initiative goal of planting 10 billion trees, in addition to an initiative entitled, “Empowering Africa”, based on the Clean Cooking Solutions Initiative.
Six memorandums of understanding were concluded during the event, including an agreement between Saudi Arabia and India in the field of electrical connectivity, clean green hydrogen and supply chains, and a memorandum between the Ministerial Forum for Clean Energy and the King Abdullah Center for Petroleum Studies and Research (KAPSARC) to promote sustainable energy development at the regional and global levels.
KAPSARC held a high-level workshop in partnership with the World Energy Forum, which addressed the contribution of clean hydrogen and carbon capture, use and storage projects in achieving climate goals in the Middle East and North Africa region, with the participation of an elite group of experts in energy, climate and sustainability, and officials in the government and private sectors.
The discussions touched on hydrogen strategies in the region and their promising role in project development, and highlighted the importance of technology and supply chains in providing low-carbon energy solutions.
This article appeared on Asharq Al Awsat
