Gulf News, Wednesday, Oct 27, 2021 | Rabi Al-Awwal 20, 1443\

Saudi energy minister at FII: Carbon offsets can help with emissions goal

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud said that a scheme to offset carbon emissions could help the Kingdom’s plans for net zero emissions.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Summit in Riyadh on Wednesday, the minister said the Kingdom played such an important role in 2020 in terms of crafting the circular carbon economy agenda.

“What we’ve been always consistently saying there are three main pillars. I think any person who has been involved in energy would recognize,” Prince Abdulaziz said.

“First, energy security and energy security and energy security. I think it’s the most fundamental pillar when it comes to when talking about energy… We can say the fundamental other pillar is economic prosperity, economic growth,” he added.

The minister also said that climate change is the “most daunting challenge that we are faced with.”

“We honestly believe that these three pillars have to be attended to without in any way whatsoever compromising any of the three,” the Kingdom’s energy minister added.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched the inaugural Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) Forum in Riyadh earlier this week, announcing that Saudi Arabia aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The Kingdom will also join the Global Methane Pledge to contribute to cutting global methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030, as part of its commitment to deliver a cleaner, greener future.

The energy minister was speaking at a session titled “Science in Action: Investing in the Circular Carbon Economy” in the second day of the summit.

The session, moderated by Bloomberg anchor Yousef Gamal El Din, tackled the question of “How can the investment community, business, and government work together to achieve progress towards the G20 recommendations of the circular carbon economy?”