Saudi Arabia hosts MENA climate week ahead of COP28 in Dubai

MENA Climate Week opening session in Riyadh on October 8, 2023. (Ayush Narayanan, Al Arabiya English)

The Saudi government is set to host a week-long climate event in the capital city of Riyadh starting Sunday in collaboration with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The event, which will bring together policy makers, private sector firms, youth campaigners, and other key stakeholders in the climate change and sustainability sphere, will be held at the Boulevard Riyadh City.

The ‘MENA Climate Week’ is being held ahead of the UN climate conference COP28 in Dubai from late November. The Saudi event comes at a crucial time when a majority of the countries have identified climbing temperatures as a problem and have since promised to take measures to curb the effects of global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2050.

“The goal of the week is to address the complexities, challenges and opportunities of climate change, collectively offering views that will ultimately be considered as part of the climate ‘stocktake’ at COP28 in November,” according to a Saudi Ministry of Energy statement.

The stock take quantifies the global progress made against the 2015 Paris Agreement linked to keeping the global warming temperature in check.

The Riyadh event, which runs until Thursday, has been divided to focus on four aspects of tackling climate change: Energy systems and industry; cities, urban and rural settlements, infrastructure and transport; land, ocean, food and water; and societies, health, livelihoods, and economies.

It is part of regional climate weeks, held annually in Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean; Asia-Pacific; and the Middle East and Northern Africa.

The event will flag off with keynotes from the Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, COP28 President-Designate Sultan al-Jaber, Egyptian foreign affairs minister Sameh Shoukry and the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.

Saudi Arabia, one of the leading producers and exporters of oil, is among those countries who have pledged a net-zero target by 2060 with aims to generate 50 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.

The Kingdom is expected to announce projects and MoUs at the climate week gathering that will formalize parts of its national plan to combat climate change.

In 2021, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative which would focus on reducing emissions, afforestation to the scale of 10 billion trees in the decades that follow, and protecting its land and sea.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the wider Middle East and North Africa region are at risk from climbing sea levels, droughts, and warmer weather. Apart from impacts to the environment, it can also impact quality of life by directly contributing to higher costs of living, as Al Arabiya English reported in September.

Israel-Palestine conflict: The last 24 hours

image credit :AFP

a plume of smoke rises above buildings in gaza city during an israeli air strike, on  October 8,2023.

Israel, reeling from the deadliest attack in half a century, formally declared war on Hamas Sunday as the conflict’s death toll surged above 1,000 after the Palestinian militant group launched a massive surprise assault from Gaza.

rime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu steeled the shocked and grieving nation for a “long and difficult” war after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Israel on Saturday and sent a wave of fighters who gunned down civilians and took at least 100 hostages. 

 The bloody escalation sharply heightened Middle East tensions and killed more than 600 people on the Israeli side, the country’s worst losses since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war when it came under attack from a coalition led by Egypt and Syria.

United States will provide munitions and equipment to Israel

The United States will provide munitions and equipment to Israel and boost American forces in the Middle East in response to the attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Pentagon said Sunday.

“The United States government will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

Biden orders ‘additional support’ for Israel

US President Joe Biden has ordered “additional support” for Israel after the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, the White House said Sunday, without giving details.

“The President directed additional support for Israel in the face of this unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas,” the White House said in a statement. Joe Biden told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces was on its way to Israel and more would follow in the coming days, the White House said.

Erdogan urges Israel, Hamas ‘to support peace’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday urged Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas “to support peace” and refrain from harming civilians.

“There is no good in (attacking) civilians,” Erdogan said as all-out war raged around Gaza. “We are ready to do everything to reduce the tensions… We invite all the actors to support peace.”

 

  

                                                                                                                                                                         cars are on fire after they were hit by rockets from the gaza strip in Ashkelon,                                                                                                                                                                          Israel, On Saturday, Oct. 7,2023.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain call for immediate de-escalation between Israel and Palestine

Smoke rises from an explosion on the Islamic National Bank following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. (AP)

 

Saudi Arabia calls for end to escalation of Israel-Hamas violence

• Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke over the phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

 RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Sunday called for an end to the escalation of violence following Saturday’s surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian Hamas group.

Oman calls for immediate de-escalation

Meanwhile, Oman’s Foreign Ministry has also called for the immediate cessation of escalation between Israelis and Palestinians.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Oman’s foreign ministry said it is closely monitoring the developments that have led to heightened violence on various fronts in the region and called for both parties to act with restraint.

Qatar calls for de-escalation and restraint

Meanwhile, Qatar too called for de-escalation and restraint, holding Israel solely responsible for the current escalation resulting from the ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinians and breaching of their rights.

 Qatar voiced its deep concern over the developments in Gaza and called both parties for the immediate cessation of the escalation and exercising of the utmost restraint, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bahrain calls for de-escalation, self-restraint

Bahrain on Saturday called for self-restraint in the Gaza Strip, saying that continued fighting had negative consequences on the region’s peace and stability.

It stressed “the need for de-escalation among all parties to preserve the lives of people” in a statement from the foreign ministry.

UAE ready to become world’s future capital: Sheikh Mohammed

The UAE has what it takes to become the world’s future capital, said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. “It has kept pace with technology and made life easier for people as the world enters its next phase of growth, the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.

I will return Saudi Arabia to Modrate Islam

I will return Saudi Arabia to moderate Islam, Mohammed bin Salman tells the Guardian that ultra-conservative state has been ‘not normal’ for past 30 years

 

Saudi Arabia

I will return Saudi Arabia to moderate Islam, says crown prince

Mohammed bin Salman tells the Guardian that ultra-conservative state has been not normal for past 30 years

 

Martin Chulov in Riyadh

Tuesday 24 October 2017 19.24 BST Last modified on Wednesday 25 October 2017 07.58 BST

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has vowed to return the country to moderate Islam and asked for global support to transform the hardline kingdom into an open society that empowers citizens and lures investors.

In an interview with the Guardian, the powerful heir to the Saudi throne said the ultra-conservative state had been not normal for the past 30 years, blaming rigid doctrines that have governed society in a reaction to the Iranian revolution, which successive leaders didn’t know how to deal with.

Expanding on comments he made at an investment conference at which he announced the launch of an ambitious $500bn (£381bn) independent economic zone straddling Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, Prince Mohammed said: We are a G20 country. One of the biggest world economies. We’re in the middle of three continents. Changing Saudi Arabia for the better means helping the region and changing the world. So this is what we are trying to do here. And we hope we get support from everyone.

What happened in the last 30 years is not Saudi Arabia. What happened in the region in the last 30 years is not the Middle East. After the Iranian revolution in 1979, people wanted to copy this model in different countries, one of them is Saudi Arabia. We didn’t know how to deal with it. And the problem spread all over the world. Now is the time to get rid of it.

 

Earlier Prince Mohammed had said: We are simply reverting to what we followed a moderate Islam open to the world and all religions. 70% of the Saudis are younger than 30, honestly we won’t waste 30 years of our life combating extremist thoughts, we will destroy them now and immediately.

The crown prince’s comments are the most emphatic he has made during a six-month reform programme that has tabled cultural reforms and economic incentives unimaginable during recent decades, during which the kingdom has been accused of promoting a brand of Islam that underwrote extremism.

The comments were made as the heir of the incumbent monarch moves to consolidate his authority, sidelining clerics whom he believes have failed to support him and demanding unquestioning loyalty from senior officials whom he has entrusted to drive a 15-year reform programme that aims to overhaul most aspects of life in Saudi Arabia.

Central to the reforms has been the breaking of an alliance between hardline clerics who have long defined the national character and the House of Saud, which has run affairs of state. The changes have tackled head-on societal taboos such as the recently rescinded ban on women driving, as well as scaling back guardianship laws that restrict women’s roles and establishing an Islamic centre tasked with certifying the sayings of the prophet Muhammed.

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The scale and scope of the reforms has been unprecedented in the country modern history and concerns remain that a deeply conservative base will oppose what is effectively a cultural revolution  and that the kingdom lacks the capacity to follow through on its economic ambitions.

The new economic zone is to be established on 470km of the Red Sea coast, in a tourist area that has already been earmarked as a liberal hub akin to Dubai, where male and female bathers are free to mingle.

It has been unveiled as the centrepiece of efforts to turn the kingdom away from a near total dependence on oil and into a diverse open economy. Obstacles remain: an entrenched poor work ethic, a crippling regulatory environment and a general reluctance to change.

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Economic transformation is important but equally essential is social transformation, said one of the country’s leading businessmen. You cannot achieve one without the other. The speed of social transformation is key. It has to be manageable.

Alcohol, cinemas and theatres are still banned in the kingdom and mingling between unrelated men and women remains frowned upon. However Saudi Arabia an absolute monarchy has clipped the wings of the once-feared religious police, who no longer have powers to arrest and are seen to be falling in line with the new regime.

Economically Saudi Arabia will need huge resources if it is to succeed in putting its economy on a new footing and its leadership believes it will fail to generate strategic investments if it does not also table broad social reforms.

Prince Mohammed had repeatedly insisted that without establishing a new social contract between citizen and state, economic rehabilitation would fail. “This is about giving kids a social life,” said a senior Saudi royal figure. “Entertainment needs to be an option for them. They are bored and resentful. A woman needs to be able to drive herself to work. Without that we are all doomed. Everyone knows that – except the people in small towns. But they will learn.”

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In the next 10 years, at least five million Saudis are likely to enter the country’s workforce, posing a huge problem for officials who currently do not have jobs to offer them or tangible plans to generate employment.

The economic zone is due to be completed by 2025 – five years before the current cap on the reform programme  and is to be powered by wind and solar energy, according to its founders.

The country’s enormous sovereign wealth fund is intended to be a key backer of the independent zone. It currently has $230bn under management. The sale of 5% of the worlds largest company, Aramco, is expected to raise several hundred billion dollars more.

Kingdom to cut reliance on foreign workers

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has announced plans to reduce its reliance on foreign workers by recruiting only highly-technical workers and monitoring investments closely.
“The Kingdom will now be more selective in hiring foreign workers,” said Ibrahim Al-Assaf, finance minister, while giving highlights of the annual budget announced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman here Monday.
Al-Assaf said that the Kingdom had made substantial progress in training and absorbing qualified Saudi professionals and workers in different sectors.
“Hence, the plan to reduce its reliance on overseas workers is quite logical,” said the minister, while pledging to facilitate implementation and completion all “projects in the pipeline like Riyadh Metro and other mega transport projects.”
To this end, he said that the government has announced several measures to meet the financial shortfall because of the falling oil prices.
He, at the same time, allayed fears of expatriates and rejected rumors, saying that the Kingdom has no plans to introduce individual income tax in the country. There is no intention and no plans to impose taxes on the income of expatriates.
The Kingdom is home for over 10 million foreign workers.
Major labor exporting countries include India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and a few African countries. More than 125,000 US and Western expatriates also live and work here. Saudi Arabia does not collect income taxes from foreigners. But, Monday’s statement released by the Ministry of Finance suggests that the finance ministry realizes that this cannot go on forever.
The statement says the ministry will review current levels of fees and fines, introduce new fees, and complete “the necessary arrangements for the application of the value added tax (VAT)… in addition to… additional fees on harmful goods such as tobacco, soft drinks and the like.” So, it appears there are still no income taxes planned, but the general concept of collecting taxes is making headway in Riyadh.
The finance ministry also plans to establish a unit responsible for public debt management, in order to improve the Kingdom’s ability to borrow both domestically and internationally, “thus contributing to the market for sukuk and local bonds,” said the statement released by the Ministry of Finance.
Another significant category of reforms mentioned in the document is a review of subsidies, including “revision of energy, water, and electricity prices gradually over the next five years, in order to achieve efficiency in energy use, conserve natural resources, stop waste and irrational use.”
“These measures will offshoot losses as Saudi Arabia increased its military and security spending in 2015 by $5.3 billion, said Economy and Planning Minister Adel Fakeih. Fakieh attributed the rise in the security spending to the Riyadh’s participation in Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen.
This was for the first time that the Saudi government disclosed the spending on security and the cost of its intervention in Yemen, which largely consists of air strikes, deployment of troops and logistics support to pro-Hadi forces.
A 2016 budget plan released by the finance ministry on Monday allocated SR213 billion to the military and security services, the largest single allocation.
It comprised over 25 percent of the total budget. On top of this, Saudi Arabia raised domestic power, water and fuel prices, and trimmed government spending for 2016, in a move to offset falling oil prices.
In fact, Saudi Arabia is to consider major changes to its high spending, low tax regime after the plunge in world oil prices saw it post a record budget deficit of $98 billion. The Kingdom exports about seven million barrels of oil a day and those revenues make up around 90 percent of the government’s fiscal revenues, and about 40 percent of the country’s overall gross domestic product.
Now, the government’s budget gap may be financed through the sale of local and international bonds.
“I’m happy they are conservative on revenue and realistic about oil in the medium term,” said Faisal bin Farhan, an investor of Saudi stocks and chairman of the Riyadh-based Shamal Investment.
“The revenue expectations for 2016 indicate the Saudi government expects oil prices to remain low throughout the coming year,” he added.
It is important to recall that Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, vice-minister of petroleum and mineral resources, recently said that “around $200 billion of investments in energy have been canceled this year, with energy companies planning to cut another three to eight percent from their investments next year.”
In a report published recently, the prince said: “This is the first time since the mid-1980s that the oil and gas industry will have cut investment in two consecutive years.”

http://www.arabnews.com/economy/news/857121