UK Prime Minister calls Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, discusses Climate, G20, and COP26

11 Oct

UK Prime Minister calls Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, discuses Climate, G20, and COP26

On October 11, 2021 UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson spoke to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. They agreed on the importance of G20 countries making substantive progress on climate change and reducing emissions ahead of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow next month.

This aligns with two key pillars of Saudi Arabia’s IMO Category C campaign - climate and cooperation. Saudi Arabia is committed to significantly developing its climate and environmental initiatives and implementing projects to protect the marine environment and combat climate change. On the call, the UK Prime Minister Johnson noted the Kingdom’s recent leadership in addressing climate change.

In September 2021, the Kingdom signed three partnership agreements with the IMO. The first, IMO CARES Foundation Project This project acts as the IMO’s overarching framework to coordinate global collaboration and coordination to ensure no country will be left behind in implementing effective solutions. Secondly GloLitter, which seeks to support developing countries, including Small Islands Developing States in establishing opportunities for the prevention and reduction of marine litter. Thirdly, the GloFouling partnership which seeks to reduce the transboundary introduction of invasive aquatic species known as biofouling. Read more about these initiatives at:: (Saudi Arabia supports IMO environmental protection projects).

In addition to the recent partnership signings, the Kingdom has adopted a forward-facing role in addressing global environmental issues including pollution and the deterioration of biodiversity. During the Kingdom’s presidency of the G20, the first special working group was established on environmental issues, including two international initiatives: The Global Initiative to Reduce Land Degradation and Promote Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats; and The Global Coral Reef Research and Development Acceleration Platform Initiative.

The Kingdom has contributed more than 4% towards the global target to reduce land degradation and 1% towards the global target for planting one trillion trees. Saudi Arabia has also raised the percentage of protected areas to more than 30% of its estimated land area, exceeding the current global target of 17%, and aspires to reduce land degradation by 50% by 2040.

The Kingdom is engaged in several regional initiatives that are focused on protecting the marine environment:

The Kingdom hosts the Headquarters of the Regional Organisation for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA);
Saudi Arabia is one of eight member states of the Regional Organisation for the Protection of the Marine Environment on the Arabian Gulf (ROPME); and
The Kingdom supports the efforts of the Mutual Assistance Centre for Maritime Emergencies and Protection of the Maritime Environment (MEMAC).

The Kingdom is developing capabilities and facilities to treat waste from ships in all The Kingdom’s ports to enhance marine preservation efforts.

As part of its Vision 2030 plans, Saudi Arabia has invested in both blue and green hydrogen to push the diversification of its economy. Saudi ARAMCO’s blue Hydrogen investments successfully exported the world’s first shipment of carbon-neutral ammonia to Japan in September 2020. A significant step in creating sustainable hydrogen and a circular economy. The investment in green hydrogen is ongoing in Neom, a city in the northwest of the country. The project partners include ACWA Power, a renewable energy company, and Air Product, an industrial gas supplier.

In a further development towards change, the MAWANI Port Authority is developing Key Performance Indicators that focus on environmental benchmarks such as the level of CO2 emissions per ton of cargo, percentage of port electrification, diversification of energy sources to operate the port, water conservation and sustainable dredging.

On the call, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also discussed the opportunities for further boosting trade and investment between the UK and Saudi Arabia, ahead of next week’s Global Investment Summit in London. The Prime Minister welcomed the recent launch of a consultation on a UK-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement.

The Prime Minister and Crown Prince agreed to continue working closely together on their shared priorities in the coming weeks ahead of the crucial G20 and COP summits.