Saudi Arabia unveils campaign to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions
- Saudi Arabia also plans to plant 10 billion trees in the kingdom in the coming decades, said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
- ‘The kingdom, the region and the world needs to go much further and faster in combating climate change,’ Prince Mohammed said
Top crude exporter Saudi Arabia on Saturday unveiled a sweeping campaign to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions, including a plan to plant billions of trees in the coming decades.
Saudi Arabia also plans to plant 10 billion trees in the kingdom in the coming decades, he said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Riyadh also plans to work with other Arab states on a “Middle East Green Initiative” to plant an additional 40 billion trees, in what would be the world’s largest reforestation programme, he added.
“The kingdom, the region and the world needs to go much further and faster in combating climate change,” Prince Mohammed said.
“We reject the false choice between preserving the economy and protecting the environment.”
The statement did not elaborate on how the mammoth plan would be executed in a largely desert landscape with extremely limited renewable water sources.