Riyadh,
Following a Cabinet Decision, March 27 was declared Saudi Green Initiative Day, an annual climate action awareness day to commemorate the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) on the same date in 2021. The day aims to raise awareness about the Kingdom’s progress under SGI and inspire collective action to create a greener future.
The theme of this year’s Saudi Green Initiative Day is “For Our Today and Their Tomorrow: KSA Together for a Greener Future”; it highlights the importance of collaborative action involving the entire society to ensure a sustainable legacy for future generations.
The first Saudi Green Initiative Day highlights the positive impact of over 80 public and private sector initiatives underway as part of SGI, which represent an investment of over SAR705 billion in the green economy.
The initiatives have significantly accelerated the green transition, contributing to improving the quality of life and creating economic opportunities in new sectors, in line with the goals of Vision 2030.
SGI initiatives have also helped restore natural habitats, safeguard unique biodiversity, and protect livelihoods by reducing the incidence of dust storms and increasing the amount of rainfall, and combating sand encroachment and desertification.
SGI continues to make impressive strides toward its ambitious environmental goals. The progress achieved on each of the three main targets is as follows:
Reducing carbon emissions by 278 million tons annually by 2030
Significant progress has been made in reducing carbon dioxide emissions; 2.8 GW of renewable energy capacity has been connected to the national grid, generating enough clean energy to power over 520,000 homes.
An additional 8.4 GW of renewable energy is under construction, with another 3.3 GW in development. This translates to powering an additional two million homes with renewable energy, once completed. These developments demonstrate Saudi Arabia’s accelerated pace toward achieving its target of generating 50% of its power from renewable sources by 2030.
Growing 10 billion trees over the coming decades
Tree planting efforts under the SGI are well under way. Over 49 million trees and shrubs have been planted across the Kingdom, and 94,000 hectares of degraded land – an area exceeding 146,000 football fields — have been rehabilitated.
To achieve the ambitious goal of planting 10 billion trees, Saudi Arabia launched a comprehensive roadmap for sustainable afforestation during MENA Climate Week in Riyadh in October 2023. This roadmap was based on a two-year feasibility study that entailed carrying out over 1,150 field surveys and collaboration with more than 50 renowned experts.
Protecting 30% of Saudi Arabia’s Land and Marine Areas by 2030
Significant progress has also been made toward protecting Saudi Arabia’s natural heritage. Currently, 18.1% of land and 6.49% of marine environments are under protected status. Part of this entailed the reintroduction of over 1,660 endangered animals into expanding nature reserves, such as the Arabian oryx, Arabian and sand gazelles, and the Nubian ibex.
In 2023 alone, a successful conservation breeding program in Taif saw the birth of seven Arabian leopard cubs. This program has nearly doubled the number of leopards under its care since its inception, highlighting its remarkable success.
SGI was launched by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, on March 27, 2021, to unify and amplify Saudi Arabia’s sustainability efforts, as a natural extension of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The Saudi Green Initiative is a whole-of-society initiative that aims to combat the impacts of climate change, drive sustainable innovation, and protect Saudi Arabia’s natural habitats to improve quality of life for future generations.
— SPA
