When one thinks of Saudi Arabia, it might not seem like the type of country that is famous for its forests, but it does contain 2.7 million hectares of woodlands, particularly in its remote high-altitude areas. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Saudi Arabia has maintained 15 protected areas for biodiversity, covering almost 4% of...
The Saudi Arabia government announced on March 20th a $32 billion economic stimulus package to help the economy badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic crisis and low oil prices. Most of the stimulus funds will bail out conventional energy systems and assist large businesses ($18.7 billion) as well as small and medium-sized businesses ($13.3 billion)...
Saudi Arabia’s current energy production is close to 26.3 GW, 40% of which comes from oil, 52% from natural gas, and 8% powered from the byproduct of steam from desalination plants. Energy from renewable and nuclear sources currently sits at virtually 0% of energy production, although there are signs that this is changing. In 2016,...
To date, Saudi Arabia doesn’t put a price on carbon emissions. Saudi Arabia neither has a carbon tax, nor a cap and trade system pricing mechanism in place. However, in October last year, the Saudi Energy Ministry announced plans to launch a carbon trading scheme as part of the kingdom’s goal to diversify its energy...
The UN Climate Change Conference, COP 25, took place this last December 2019 in Madrid, Spain. As part of the Paris Climate Agreement, Saudi Arabia was present and an active participant in discussions that were aimed at negotiating ambitious plans to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C. Yet again, as in previous conferences, Saudi...
