Frankly Speaking: Saudi Arabia can be "the first oil exporter and fight against climate change" |Arabnews Fr

Dubai: Saudi Arabia can retain its role as the world's leading oil exporter while continuing an ambitious strategy to mitigate the effects of climate change, said one of the main decision -makers of the Kingdom’s environmental policy in Arab News.

Dr. Osama Faqeeha, vice-minister of the environment, water and agriculture, said that the challenge for the kingdom and for the world was to face the polluting emissions of hydrocarbons production,while exploring other uses of petroleum products and renewable alternatives.

"We see that the problem is not in hydrocarbons but in emissions," he said, stressing that "petrochemical products, plastic, medical supplies, clothes and other objects are manufacturedfrom hydrocarbons;emissions are the problem, namely CO2 emissions.»»

Faqeeha, qui est étroitement impliqué dans la mise en œuvre des mesures de la « Saudi Green Initiative»» dévoilées l'an dernier, est apparu sur Frankly Speaking, la série d'entretiens vidéo avec des décideurs politiques et des hommes d'affaires de premier plan.

He also mentioned the ambitious planting plan of 10 billion trees in the kingdom, the campaign to protect its environmental ecosystem and its biodiversity, and the efforts in progress to improve air quality in the capital Riyadh andIn other major cities.

Faqeeha stressed that the environmental campaign launched within the framework of the SGI is part of a global strategy to meet the challenges of change and global warming.

"In this context, Saudi Arabia has embarked on the circular carbon economy, an approach which really consists in treating CO2 like any other waste, taking it and recycling it in different ways.

"We must realize that there is no unique approach that may in itself take up the challenge of global climate change.

"We need renewable energies, we need the circular carbon economy, we need recycling, we must stop this deforestation, preserve habitats, reduce marine plastics.We have to focus on all of this, "he said.

The plan to plant 10 billion trees in Saudi Arabia in the coming decades is a striking feature of the SGI, recognized as a challenge given the arid desert climate of the kingdom and the relatively low level of precipitation.

"This is certainly a very stimulating ambitious objective.Like his Royal Highness The Crown Prince (Mohammed Bin Salman) announced it, the schedule will spread over the next decades.We really aim for the sustainability of the environment.We intend to achieve this objective by taking into account this sustainability.

“To achieve this, we will focus first of all on the use of the native plant species in the Kingdom.Believe it or not, there are more than 2,000 flora species documented in the kingdom that have adapted to the dry and arid climate of Saudi Arabia.

« Ces plantes ont donc vraiment prospéré dans cet environnement et s'y sont (pleinement) adaptées»», a-t-il déclaré.

The forestry program - already underway - will focus on four main areas: the restoration of natural flora in mountains and valleys;an “urban greening” program for major cities;planting in agricultural areas to support food production and rural communities;and trees planting along the main highways to counter the advance of sand and improve travelers experience.

Renewable water sources will also be used in the tree planting program to avoid endangering the precious groundwater.Treated wastewater and rainy collection were part of the techniques validated by decision -makers in environmental policy, as well as the greater use of maritime resources.

“Saudi Arabia has thousands of kilometers of ribs on the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea.There are two species of indigenous paletviers that really grow in seawater, so we intend to also focus on these species, "he said.

The traditional practice which consists in cutting natural wood to make camp fires caused a debate in the kingdom because it is held responsible for part of the desertification that the SGI has committed to eliminate.

"Illegal logging was an important problem.Residents have an affinity for local assets, they really like picnics and outdoor activities, they like to light wood fires and organize family reunions around and they are local traditions that we really cherish.However, it cost the local vegetation dearly.The new environment law has imposed severe sanctions on illegal logging.

« D'autre part, nous avons beaucoup incité à importer des alternatives, comme le charbon et d'autres substituts au feu de bois, qui permettront essentiellement aux membres de la communauté de passer encore un bon moment sans nuire à la végétation»», a-t-il déclaré.

The World Health Organization has criticized Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East for their low standards of air quality, but Faqeeha challenged some of the conclusions of the WHO.

"I would like to highlight a distinction between air pollution and degraded air quality.You sometimes have a degraded air quality and it is not because it is polluted by human activities.WHO uses particulate materials as the main parameters to measure air quality.

"It is a very good parameter for (places like) Europe and the United States, where the plant surface is extended, and where particulate materials come mainly from power plants, factories and other human activities.We call these particular materials of anthropogenic or MP particles.

"Here in Saudi Arabia and in the region as a whole, particular materials have natural causes, mainly from dust storms.It is certain that air quality degrades during dust storms - no one claims it is healthy to go outside and inhale the storm of dust.

So that's what they (WHO) are referring to.It is a degraded air quality because of the natural particles emanating from storms of dust, ”he said.

The ministry works on global measures to reduce dust storms and improve air quality, said Faqeeha.

At the COP26 summit on climate change in Glasgow last year, some experts warned that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries would suffer more than other parts of the world from global warming, especiallyextreme heat, diseases and air pollution.

Faqeeha acknowledged that it was a problem with which the decision -makers faced."Undeniably, climate change and warming are a major global challenge that we take very seriously.There are very few studies to establish perspectives in terms of temperature.(Studies) are very rare.

"In fact, throughout the region, we do not have a climate center for climate studies and that is why the Crown Prince announced the creation of the Regional Center for Climate Studies here, which will be defended byThe National Meteorology Center in Saudi Arabia.His work consists in really doing national and regional studies on the medium and long-term perspectives of climate change, "he said.

One of the main axes of the Saudi environmental strategy, he added, is the desire to reverse the tendency to degradation of land and desertification, a major contributor to the generation of gas emissionspolluting greenhouses that cost around a thousand billion dollars worldwide (881 billion euros).

"Land degradation is the second contributor to greenhouse gases.In fact, land deterioration is the cause of approximately more than 50 % of the loss of biodiversity, which represents an important contribution.In addition, this has a huge impact on agricultural land and food security, ”said Faqeeha.

The measures aimed at reversing land degradation were a major achievement of the G20 summit under the Saudi presidency in 2020.

FAQEEHA has also described the Kingdom's new strategy in terms of waste management, which it considers as a domain conducive to the participation of the private sector and foreign investments.

"Participation of the private sector is an important catalyst for achieving the objectives of the national environmental strategy," he said.

"Many international companies arrive and they believe that the regulatory environment is now very conducive to their participation.»»

This text is the translation of an article published on Arabnews.com