Green Middle East Initiative Summit Issued Presidential Communique

At a kind invitation of HRH Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, the 1st summit of the Green Middle East Initiative was held, in Riyadh.

With the participation of a number of Middle Eastern and African leaders and international officials, related to the environment and climate change sector, as well.

During the summit, the leaders and attendees reviewed the first package of programs and projects announced by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that aim to contribute to achieving the ambitious goals of the Green Middle East Initiative, represented in supporting efforts and cooperation, in the region to reduce carbon emissions and remove them, through natural solutions and adaptation by more than 10% of the total current global emissions, and planting of as much as 50 billion trees, in the region, to achieve, at least 5% of the global target for afforestation, which is the largest tree-planting program, ever, in the world.

In order to achieve the goals of the Green Middle East Initiative, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced during the summit, that it will establish an international cooperation platform to implement the concept of a circular carbon economy, a regional center for climate change, a regional complex for carbon extraction, use and storage, and incept a regional center for early warning for storms to contribute to reducing resulting health risks, such as dust waves.

In addition to establishing a regional center for sustainable development of fisheries, to contribute to raising marine biodiversity and reducing the level of emissions, in the fisheries’ sector by about 15%, and launch a regional program for cloud seeding to raise the level of precipitation by nearly 20%.

These centers and programs would have a major role in creating the necessary infrastructure to protect the environment, reduce emissions, and raise the level of regional coordination.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will also work to kick off a global initiative to contribute to providing clean fuel solutions, to provide food to over 750 million people, all over the world, and to establish a fund to invest in solutions for circular carbon economy technologies, in the region.

Total investment in these two initiatives is approximately, put at as much as SR39 billion.

The Kingdom will contribute to financing about 15% of the total. Believing in the significance of the environment and vegetation (cover) in Africa, the summit called for intensifying coordination and joint action, to preserve and develop it, in addition to establishing the Green Initiative Foundation, as an independent non-profit organization, to support the summit and enhance the level of coordination.

Stemming from the, regionally as well as internationally, shared responsibility, in facing common environmental (ecological) challenges, the leaders highlighted the significance of working together, to develop a regional roadmap and functioning methodology to confront these challenges, in order to achieve the objectives of the Green Middle East Initiative, believing in the importance of the initiative’s aspirations, for the sustainable development of the region, preservation of biodiversity and to restore it, for the benefit of countries, across the world, entirely.

The leaders expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the Kingdom’s initiatives and efforts, in the field of environment and climate change, and thanked HRH Crown Prince for initiating and exerting such efforts and his kind invitation to leaders and officials, from all over the world, to attend the summit, giving the green light to form joint working groups, and to hold such a summit, periodically, to promote executive plans, towards achieving the objectives of the initiative.