Green Investment: Perspectives & Prospects

The Green investment theme is simply described as our potentials, resources and funds, as well as other tools, that are closer to achieving environmentally friendly objectives.

Business, capital and human interactions are elements that mobilize the world, in general, and the economies, in particular, and enhance the significance and strength of businesses.

Therefore, why does an owner of a facility not make use of such a power to contribute, in improving human life and quality of the surrounding environment? through adopting sustainable solutions.

In the our current Year 2021, ecological awareness campaigns and attempts to awaken the environmental conscience ,among the individuals and the communities, alike, and the sense of responsibility of preserving the Earth and natural resources, that God has bestowed us with, are witnessing a rise, especially, amid those who wish to exploit, through investing their capital, in fields of environmental preservation, as we are, indeed, just passing guests, on this planet.

Henceforth, we shall be aiming to improve our visit-cum-stay on the mother Earth, and be keen on leaving the place suitable for the living of our offspring, posterity and generations, to come.

There is no doubt, at all, that the green economy brings a great benefit to the country, and that one of the most prominent benefits is the contribution to reducing unemployment levels and improving the standard of living of the households, as it allows the best practice, in management of natural resources.

Subsequently, contributes to realizing the benefit of natural capital and empowers, mainly, the farmers.

As the green economy is more relevant to the place, we are experiencing the development and construction of green buildings and solar panels, in addition to the development of wind energy, which create greater new job opportunities.

The other advantage is that both solar and wind energy, or the clean and renewable energy family, as a whole, contribute to reducing the rising consumption of fossil energy, such as oil and diesel barrels, used in the power generation domain.

The benefits of green economies and investments are countless, to the point that I can conclude that by reducing the pollution in water and air, we shall help in alleviating the environmental pressures facing the mother Earth and avoiding future problems.

One of the points in terms of business that we can work on, is to support public transportation, as it reduces energy consumption and protects the environment against the vehicle exhaust and emissions polluting the environment and aggravate the climate change fallouts.

The second point is to address solid waste by utilizing it as new raw materials for the emerging recycling industry, in addition to relying on clean and renewable energy.

Thus, fully exploiting energy-saving technical solutions.

The green economy is at the top of the Kingdom’s agenda, and this was confirmed by the opening speech of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, at the G20 Summit as he stated that: “We must create the conditions laying the ground for a more sustainable economy.

Consequently, we have promoted the principle of the circular carbon economy as an effective approach to achieving our goals related to climate change and ensuring the building up of a cleaner, more sustainable energy systems and much more affordable.

We shall lead the international community, in preserving and protecting the environment” as well as on other related global agendas.

The SABB bank became the first Saudi financial institution to implement a green-oriented deposit.

The funds deposited with HSBC in the UAE are only directed to fund initiatives relevant to the green enterprises and projects.

This step is reflected in clarifying the growing demand for green finance, in addition to the development of a sustainability reporting project, developed by the IFRS Foundation that set forth the global accounting standards.

Among the Kingdom’s most prominent efforts was the Public Investment Fund’s initiative to issue green bonds, expected at the end of the fourth quarter of the Year 2021, and would be allocated to finance environmental and climate projects.

Goals of the Solar Energy Plan 2030, which included the establishment of a new company to generate solar energy, in addition to the establishment of specialized companies for research and development of solar panels, in a commercially mass production, in the Kingdom, are not hidden indications.

Middle East and North African (MENA) banks seek to provide and finance green financing solutions.

Green and sustainability-related debt issuances, in MENA region amounted to $6.4 billion, in the first half of 2021, and such a rise is due to the Red Sea Development Company’s obtaining of the first green loan.

In conclusion, the transition to green investment is a cumulative process that does not happen overnight.

Finally, the old saying is still, perfectly, standing true: A little permanent, is better than a lot, that is intermittent.

Latifa Ibrahim Al-Sarhan