Climate Scorecard’s 2024 Government Climate Leadership Award is presented to a country official who has done the most to reduce emissions in their country’s government over the past year. Below is a copy of the letter sent to each nominee and why they were chosen to receive this award.Saudi Arabia 2024 Climate Scorecard Award: Crown...
Category: Saudi Arabia News Brief and Action Alert
No Significant Elections Scheduled in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia doesn’t have any elections planned in 2024. Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties. No officials at the national level are elected. Nonpartisan elections for advisory councils at the municipal level happened in 2015. Two-thirds of the members on the 284 councils were elected, while the rest of...
Saudi Arabia: Doing More to Implement Its Vision 2030 Program will help Bridge the Gap Between Development and Climate Mitigation Programs
Saudi Arabia announced more than six years ago Vision 2030, which is a set of megaprojects and strategic investments that seek to diversify the economy, increase the state’s non-oil revenue, and reduce oil-dependent economic activity. However, political and socioeconomic obstacles have slowed the country’s pace of energy transition towards more sustainable alternatives. The state continues to...
Saudi Arabia’s Greenhouse Gas Crediting and Offsetting Mechanism (GCOM)
The second Middle East and North Africa Climate Week (MENACW) was held from 9-12 October 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the theme, “Advancing Inclusivity and Circularity for Just and Equitable Energy Transitions” and marked the attendance of over 9000 participants and over 240 sessions. It was organized by the UN Environment Program (UNEP), the UN...
Saudi Arabia: Model Community Climate Mitigation Programs
NEOM An example of an exemplary community in Saudi Arabia that has shown a commitment to climate mitigation is the city of Neom. Planned as a part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, Neom is a high-profile development project that aims to be a model of sustainability and advanced technology. While it’s still under development, its...
Saudi Arabia: COP 28 Recommendations for Strengthening Country Climate Ambition
Dear Albara Tawfiq, Policy Advisor, Ministry of Energy and lead negotiator of Saudi Arabia’s Delegation to COP27, Tawfiqaez@gmail.com Our names are Abeer Abdulkareem and Amgad Ellaboudy. We are Country Managers for Saudi Arabia for Climate Scorecard, a non-profit organization that monitors leading greenhouse gas-emitting countries’ climate policies and programs. Based on a review of Saudi...
Saudi Arabia Produces Emissions Reports That are Out of Date and Not Reliable
RATING DThe National Inventory of Anthropogenic Emissions by Sources and Removals by Sinks of Greenhouse Gases can be accessed via the KAPSARC website (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre), which has been extracted from The First Biennial Update Report (BUR1) of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia, Third National Communication of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,...
Saudi Arabia requires a multi-pronged technical support effort to maintain its large-scale production of dates
Rating C Saudi Arabia is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to its harsh desert climate and low levels of arable land that constitute only 5% of its total area and scarce water resources. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia is considered one of the top three date-producing countries in the world, with 1,065,032...
Rise in Demand, Coupled with Droughts and Floods, Strains Available Water Resources in South Africa
Rating B (Moderately Effective) Climate change will likely cause major water uncertainty in most of South Africa. With increased drying and flooding, there have been localized effects in regions with small water resource management systems, such as Cape Town. Climate change has influenced annual rainfall, increased runoff, and sea levels. The different climatic conditions, such...
Saudi Efforts to Prevent and Adapt to Climate-Related Water Scarcity are Highly Effective
Rating A Over the last decade, Saudi Arabia, a largely arid country, has witnessed significant changes in water usage, driven by the dual pressures of a growing population and industrialization. One of the key changes has been the shift from water-intensive agricultural practices to more sustainable methods due to the depletion of the country’s underground...