RIYADH: Spreading the truth about climate change and the need for sustainability is very important in relation to a changing climate, and how it impacts life on Earth, said panelists at a discussion hosted by the Swedish and Swiss embassies to the Kingdom.

Swedish Ambassador Niclas Trouvé and his Swiss counterpart André Schaller jointly organized the discussion on climate and sustainability perspectives on Thursday night, at the Swedish ambassador’s residence in Riyadh, where some of the best drivers in motorsport have gathered ahead of Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The much anticipated first race on Friday night begins with a double-header in Diriyah, promising an exhilarating race experience using electric cars.

Run under LED lights at the UNESCO World Heritage Site on the outskirts of Riyadh, the night races, which will take place on Jan. 28 and 29, are being held in the Kingdom for the fourth consecutive year since the venue joined the calendar in 2018.

Speaking to Arab News, Trouvé said: “We had an important discussion in the panel. The occasion why we are here is the ABB-sponsored Formula E race. What is interesting now is the feel here in the Kingdom, and also of course in Sweden and Switzerland and the rest of the world, the enormous push that we feel now for sustainable green solutions.

“As I shared with the audience here at the discussion, almost half of the new cars that were sold in Sweden last year were non-carbon, nonfossil, i.e electric or hybrid cars. Around the world, we now see an enormous push for electric vehicles like the Formula E races, as we will see on Friday night in Diriyah.

“Sweden and Switzerland’s embassies co-hosted the panel discussion, and we are both at the forefront, we want to cooperate with the Kingdom, we want co-creation and innovation together with our Saudi friends and we are ready for business and investment to make the Vision 2030 a reality so that Saudi Arabia also can continue on this very important role towards the sustainable carbon-free future,”said the envoy.

Schaller said: “Congratulation to Saudi Arabia and also to the ABB for bringing Formula E World Championship races to Diriyah for the fourth consecutive time. It is a race to the future — for the sustainable future — and it also crosses the rich history and heritage in the Kingdom in front of the wonderful UNESCO World Heritage site.

“It’s also about the message, the message that if you can do races like this with sustainable and renewable energy-backed electric cars, you can apply the same for commercial vehicles,” said Schaller adding “these cars do not carry passengers, but it carries an important message.”

Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle said: “We are delighted to be back to Diriyah for the fourth time, Saudi Arabia is one of the features in the race series of our global calendar. For the last two years we were not able to host the fans because of the coronavirus pandemic. We are happy to host the fans this time, that’ great news.

“We will be doing the live race for the second time ever under the lights, and this is going to be carbon neutral using electric vehicles, and LED lighting. All of the energy consumed for the race is biofuel.”

Another panelist, Mohammed Al-Mousa, county managing director of ABB Saudi Arabia, said that technology leader ABB has played a crucial role over years in the Kingdom and is keen to continue the success story of demonstrating sustainable energy commitment, e-mobility and carbon neutrality.