{"id":47459,"date":"2022-01-19T16:34:04","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T16:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47459"},"modified":"2022-01-19T16:34:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T16:34:04","slug":"egyptian-french-navies-carry-out-joint-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47459","title":{"rendered":"Egyptian, French navies carry out joint training"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week: Saudi, UAE energy ministers outline path to net-zero future<\/h2>\n
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\nAs the global energy transition takes center stage at this year\u2019s Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the UAE, concerns around energy security, both in the Middle East and the world at large, are high on the agenda.<\/p>\n

\nIn light of this, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have taken the lead on pioneering green initiatives, setting a road map for other nations looking to adopt more sustainable energy sources without causing economic harm.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cEnergy security is a concerning topic,\u201d said Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia\u2019s minister of energy and chair of OPEC Plus, during a summit discussion titled \u201cEnergy Transition in the GCC \u2014 Net Zero on the Horizon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe believe, as OPEC Plus, that we have done a lot in bringing about stability. There is nothing more profound or important for energy security than having a stable market and those who are not copying us as OPEC Plus need to copy us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nThe key to energy security is to embrace many different energy sources, he said, as \u201ctabooing\u201d a specific source or being too selective could prove damaging to a nation\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

\nIn recent years, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have focused attention on building a more sustainable energy model, while also working to ensure they remain reliable global suppliers of oil and gas.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe came up with a strategy in 2017 of going 50 percent green by 2050 and reducing 70 percent of our emissions,\u201d Suhail Mohamed Al-Mazrouei, the UAE minister of energy and infrastructure, told summit delegates.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBut what is important as well is that (going 50 percent green) would save us around $191 billion of the $353 billion of our budget, so almost 60 percent, and that was an eye-opener for many countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nEnergy officials from Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been working with advanced economies to help diversify their energy mix, while encouraging other countries to adopt renewables, Al-Mazrouei said, adding: \u201cThis is what the world was not expecting from us, as conventional producers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThe Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit will run from Jan. 15-19 is one of the biggest gatherings concerned with exploring sustainability issues, and providing a global platform for cooperation, knowledge exchange, investment and innovation.<\/p>\n

\nBesides launching renewable-energy initiatives and embracing green fuels, Saudi Arabia and the UAE participated enthusiastically in COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, in November, where nations committed to cutting their emissions.<\/p>\n

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\nThe previous month, Saudi Arabia launched its Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives, committing the Kingdom to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, and to planting 10 billion trees over the coming decades, rehabilitating 8 million hectares of degraded land and establishing new protected areas.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThese initiatives are ideas that the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself put together,\u201d Prince Abdul Aziz told the panel, adding that the commitments are genuine and not mere \u201cgreenwashing\u201d as suggested by critics.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt is not trying to take Saudi Arabia to a beauty shop. It has more to do with conviction that we need to do all the above because there is a solid economic case for all of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nReferring to two megaprojects taking shape on the Kingdom\u2019s northwest coastline, he said: \u201cWe cannot have a place like the Red Sea project or NEOM without being too careful about what you do to the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nPrince Abdul Aziz added: \u201cWe have been advocating the circular carbon economy and we will be demonstrating (it). The circular carbon economy is a closed-loop system designed to promote the reuse of resources that would otherwise have been wasted or discarded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nTechnology is expected to play a core role in the region\u2019s plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in an efficient and cost-effective way, including carbon capture, utilization and storage tools. Scaling these technologies presents many lucrative business opportunities.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThere will be money that will be made because, in the concept of reusing and recycling, carbon and gasses will become a material that will be monetized,\u201d Prince Abdul Aziz said.<\/p>\n

\nAl-Mazrouei drew attention to circular economy\u2019s potential for creating jobs by enabling and incentivizing the private sector.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cOthers are watching and copying and catching up, so it has been a positive movement,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd whenever they see us as the largest two economies in the Middle East doing these things, others are adapting and learning, and we are spreading that learning as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nSaudi Arabia is in the midst of a far-reaching economic and industrial transformation under the umbrella of Vision 2030, a diversification plan that is creating jobs in a variety of new industries, while encouraging more young people to seek careers in the rapidly evolving energy sector.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSome of these technologies are challenging and they will continue to be,\u201d said Prince Abdul Aziz. \u201cBut with challenge and creativity, you will see serious men and women approaching this sector with excitement. Because, to them, it is making them look like models \u2014 in their\u00a0 ambition of having economic prosperity and monetizing their natural resources, including wind and sun, and advancing the diversity of the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nPrince Abdul Aziz said he is confident that Saudi Arabia will achieve its goal of eliminating 278 million tons of emissions, almost equivalent to the emissions of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman combined.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIf we are not proud and willing to show that, I don\u2019t know what else we would show,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\nHydrogen has emerged as one potentially game-changing source of renewable energy. The UAE is working on seven hydrogen projects in the hopes of capturing 25 percent of the market share.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe think we can export hydrogen to some of our partners and we\u2019re already in discussions with many countries that we supply hydrocarbons to today,\u201d Al-Mazrouei said. \u201cWe will work on both blue and green hydrogen; we have built the first Middle East green hydrogen plant and we are now testing the utilization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nGreen hydrogen is produced using solar energy, and is a major feature of the energy equation at Saudi Arabia\u2019s planned NEOM megacity. Although hydrogen presents its own set of challenges, research and development will be a crucial step in the transition.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe will spare no effort in ensuring we make this a viable option for us, and we think that because we are big in hydrocarbons, both of our countries will be big in hydrogen and hydrogen export,\u201d Al-Mazrouei said.<\/p>\n

\nIn his concluding remarks, Prince Abdul Aziz pressed home the need for all nations to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe owe it to ourselves, as Saudi Arabia; I owe it to our friends in the UAE, that if you look at our commitments when it comes to emission reduction, we are doing way beyond our share.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nTwitter: @CalineMalek<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week: Saudi, UAE energy ministers outline path to net-zero future As the global energy transition takes center stage at this year\u2019s Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the UAE, concerns around energy security, both in the Middle East and the world at large, are high on the agenda. In light of this, both…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47459\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}