Saudi Arabia able to produce, integrate new forms of energy: Minister

JEDDAH: Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud said that Saudi Arabia has the capabilities to produce and integrate new forms of energy into the kingdom’s economy and exports.

The kingdom doesn’t see any contradiction between investing in energy and caring for the climate, he told a local channel. “We seek to develop technologies that enable the consumption of oil and gas in environmentally friendly manner,” Prince Abdulaziz said in the TV interview. “We strive to make Saudi Arabia a reliable source of all forms of energy,” he added.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the world’s top oil exporter aims to reach ‘net zero’ emissions of greenhouse gases – mostly produced by burning fossil fuels by 2060, ten years later than the United States.

Speaking at the Saudi Green Initiative in Riyadh on Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said the world’s top oil exporter aimed to reach ‘net zero’ emissions of greenhouse gases by 2060 and will more than double its annual target to reduce carbon emissions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a phone call with Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, welcomed initiatives announced by the kingdom on Saturday to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

READ MORE: Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia targets net zero emissions by 2060

Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and his energy minister said Saudi Arabia would tackle climate change while ensuring oil market stability, stressing the continued importance of hydrocarbons.

They were speaking at the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI), which comes ahead of COP26, the UN climate change conference in Glasgow at the end of the month, which hopes to agree deeper emissions cuts to tackle global warming.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aims to reach zero-net emissions by 2060 under its circular carbon economy programme … while maintaining the kingdom’s leading role in strengthening security and stability of global oil markets,” Prince Muhammad said in recorded remarks.

He said the kingdom would join a global initiative on slashing emissions of methane by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, which both the United States and the EU have been pressing. US climate envoy John Kerry is due to attend a wider Middle East green summit Riyadh is hosting on Monday

Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Riyadh had already submitted its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – goals for individual states under global efforts to prevent average global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The SGI aims to eliminate 278 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year, the crown prince said, up from a previous target of 130 million tonnes. In March, Saudi Arabia pledged to reduce carbon emissions by more than 4% of global contributions. It said that would involve generating 50% of its energy needs from renewables by 2030 and planting billions of trees in the desert state.

Saudi Arabia’s economy remains heavily reliant on oil income as economic diversification lags ambitions set out by the crown prince. Saudi officials have argued the world will continue to need Saudi crude for decades to come.