Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said it has a plan to plant billions of trees in the coming decades.
Top crude exporter Saudi Arabia has unveiled a sweeping campaign to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
The “Saudi Green Initiative” aims to reduce emissions by generating half of its energy from renewables by 2030. Saudi Arabia also plans to plant 10 billion trees in the kingdom in the coming decades, he said in a statement.
Reports said Riyadh also plans to work with other Arab states on a “Middle East Green Initiative” on world’s largest reforestation programme that aims at planting an additional 40 billion trees.
It was not immediately clear how the mammoth plan would be executed in a largely desert landscape with extremely limited renewable water sources.
Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia and the region face “significant climate challenges”, including desertification, which poses an “immediate economic risk”. The initiatives come as energy giant Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s cash cow, faces scrutiny from investors over its emissions.
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