Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's presidency of the G20 encouraged the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) approach through which emissions could be managed in a comprehensive and integrated manner with the aim of mitigating the effects of climate challenges, making energy systems cleaner and more sustainable and enhancing security and stability energy markets.

During the second side event of "Safeguarding the Planet" on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit, King Salman event, indicating G20 commitments towards safeguarding the planet, stated the Saudi G20 Presidency is driving an ambitious approach to CCE to manage greenhouse emissions across the world and industries to protect the planet.

Saudi Arabia hosted the side event on Safeguarding the Planet during the second day of the summit. The event was held virtually and led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

King Salman, in his speech, said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the second side event which will focus on safeguarding the planet within the framework of the circular economy.

“At the time we are recovering from the implications of the pandemic, we have to provide the suitable circumstances ensuring to find a solid, inclusive, balanced and sustainable economy through human empowerment, safeguarding the planet, and forming new horizons to realize opportunities of the 21st century for all.

“The preservation of the planet represents the utmost importance. With the increase of emissions due to the economic growth, we have to be pioneers in adopting sustainable, realistic and cost-effective methodologies for achieving the ambitious climate's goals.

“From this standpoint, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s presidency encouraged the circular carbon economy's framework through which emissions can be managed in a comprehensive and integrated manner with the aim of mitigating the effects of climate challenges, making energy systems cleaner and more sustainable, and enhancing the security and stability of the energy markets.

“The countries will be able to adopt and enhance technologies that are compatible with the paths that the countries choose for energy transformations via pillars of the circular carbon economy, as these pillars represent a comprehensive, integrated and realistic methodology enabling the utilization of all emissions management's options in all sectors.”

King Salman announced that Saudi Arabia will launch the National Program for the Circular Carbon Economy to consolidate and accelerate the current efforts to achieve sustainability in a comprehensive manner.

King Salman called on other countries to work with the Kingdom to achieve the goals of this program in order to address the climate change with developing the economy and increasing the human prosperity. “In 2012, we launched the National Energy Efficiency Program, as this is a cornerstone of the efforts to reduce emissions within the principle of a circular carbon economy,” King added.

“We also have several initiatives concerned with carbon capture and conversion into valuable raw materials. This includes the world's largest facility for filtering carbon dioxide, which was built by the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) with 500,000 tons per year in addition to the Saudi Aramco's plan of enhanced oil recovery by 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Likewise, we are developing the largest green hydrogen facility in NEOM.

“Realizing the important role of the carbon sequestration process through nature, we called for adopting an ambitious goal of safeguarding, reclaiming and managing one billion hectares of the degraded lands in a sustainable manner by 2040,” King Salman added.

King Salman pointed out to the fact that the Kingdom has big plans for the renewable energy sources, including the wind and solar energy, which will represent 50% of the energy used to produce electricity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by 2030.

World leaders participated in the event including the, Prime Minister of Italy – Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi, President of the People's Republic of China – Xi Jinping, Prime Minister of Japan – Yoshihide Suga, and Prime Minister of Australia — Scott Morrison, and President of the United States Donald Trump.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, said: “The existential threat posed by climate change, land degradation and the decline of global biodiversity has already brought us to a crossroad, one that will determine whether we are able to Safeguard our Planet and a build a sustainable future. I am convinced the G20 can lead the world in the right direction.”

Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said: “Global environmental issues are urgent challenges that the international community should address. We, the G20 leaders, need to take the lead and work together as a team...for this great mission of ‘Safeguarding the Planet’, Japan will take the initiative while continuing further collaboration with other countries.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said: “We need to Safeguard our Planet. This is an ongoing, long term collective responsibility...it is good that the G20 is in strong agreement about the importance of preserving our oceans and this is a very important issue for Australia...as G20 members we all have important responsibilities, to the present and also the future. We must all take action to Safeguard our Planet for our peoples and for the generations to come.”

President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping said: “The G20 should continue to take the lead in tackling climate change...China supports deepening G20 coordination in reducing land degradation, conserving coral reefs, and cleaning up plastic from the ocean...let us work together for a clean and beautiful world.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “Climate change must be fought not in silos — but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way...This is the best time for further increasing research and innovation in new and sustainable technologies. We should do so with a spirit of cooperation and collaboration.”

United States President Donald Trump, said: “We must preserve the majesty of God’s creation. Together, we can protect our environment, promote access to clean, affordable energy, and deliver a future of opportunity, prosperity, and hope for our nations all over the world.”