Nadin Hassan and Reina Takla

RIYADH: In the battle to combat the climate crisis and bolster environmental conservation, Saudi Arabia’s biodiversity and economic stability present a significant opportunity for improving an alarming situation, a top industry expert has claimed.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week held in Riyadh, Tarek Al-Khoury, regional coordinator for climate change at the UN Environment Programme’s West Asia office, stated that the Kingdom possesses a wide range of resources to improve the ecosystem.

“We have a huge opportunity to use solar energy systems in the region, unlike Europe, unlike other regions, we have sun all the time,” Al-Khoury told Arab News.

He elaborated further, highlighting that the Kingdom has the potential to effectively address climate change by utilizing natural solutions, noting that the region is at the forefront of carbon capture efforts.

The UN official added: “We have an opportunity to expand this knowledge at the regional level.” 

Given the incorporation of activities such as extensive tree planting, Al-Khoury referred to the Saudi and the Middle East green initiatives as one of the most significant environmental endeavors in the region.

“Those initiatives include working on planting a lot of trees within the context of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and capturing carbon, at the same time to green the region and to limit the impact of climate change on the region. It’s a very solid initiative if implemented, as promised,” he continued.

He added: “This is a huge opportunity to contribute as well, to reduce the greenhouse gas emission at the global level. If this initiative is implemented as planned, it would reduce 100 percent of greenhouse gas emissions at the global level.”

Al-Khoury told Arab News that climate change is “transboundary work.” This means that the effects of climate change transcend country borders and have a global impact.

He highlighted the key vulnerable elements affected by the crisis, such as water security and heat waves.

“The impact of climate change on the water security in the region. It’s also obvious, we can see it easily in Iraq and Jordan, the bank of the freshwater amount is already decreasing,” he stated.

Al-Khoury continued: “This is affecting a lot of agricultural work and production as well in many countries. While there is a lot of work on mitigation and reusing greenhouse gas emissions, there is a huge need for the region to adapt to climate change to combat it.” 

He called on assessing and understanding what those changes are, pinpointing the key elements susceptible to the effects of climate change, and a need to develop methods for adapting to the impact within these sectors.

Additionally, he emphasized that the event serves as a crucial platform for the upcoming COP28, as the region can unify its position regarding climate negotiations and action.

“It’s also a platform to share knowledge, progress, and to discuss future opportunity and action at a regional level,” he said.

Al-Khoury also expressed the UNEP’s admiration for how the Gulf Cooperation Council region is pledging to net-zero emissions, as they will continue supporting not only on technical levels but also by “convening all the stakeholders to be part of all endeavor related to climate change.”