The Ministerial Council of the Green Middle East Initiative kicks off in Jeddah
The eyes of the international community and those concerned with environmental and climate issues will be on Jeddah next Thursday, as the city prepares to host the second session of the Ministerial Council of the Green Middle East Initiative. The meeting will be chaired by the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Engineer Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli, in an event that represents a milestone in regional climate action.
A new phase of actual implementation
The meeting is witnessing broad international participation, with ministers and officials from 31 regional countries spanning Asia and Africa, in addition to the United Kingdom's participation as an observer. The strategic importance of this meeting lies in its formal declaration of the transition from the "foundational phase," which focused on establishing legislative frameworks and structuring the Secretariat, to the actual "implementation phase" of projects on the ground. The meeting is expected to adopt the necessary resolutions to launch the first packages of cross-border environmental projects.
Ambitious goals to combat climate change
This step comes as part of the implementation of the initiative's objectives, the largest of its kind in the region, which aims to plant 50 billion trees in the Middle East, equivalent to reclaiming 200 million hectares of degraded land. This massive figure will contribute to achieving 5% of the global afforestation targets, thus strengthening the region's role as a key partner in protecting the planet.
Regarding carbon emissions, the operational plans discuss mechanisms to reduce emissions by 670 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which represents about 10% of the required global contributions, in a step that will positively impact air quality and public health in the countries of the region.
The leading role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The convening of the Council in Jeddah reflects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s firm commitment to leading the green era in the region, complementing the efforts initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with the launch of the initiative at the Riyadh Summit in 2021. The Kingdom reinforced this direction during the Sharm El Sheikh Summit in 2022 by announcing a financial grant of $2.5 billion in support of the initiative’s projects, in addition to undertaking all the operational expenses of the initiative’s General Secretariat, headquartered in Riyadh, for ten years.
Regional and international importance
The importance of this event extends beyond the environmental aspect to encompass economic and social dimensions. The initiative aims to strengthen regional cooperation to address the challenges of desertification and dust storms, which cost the region's economies billions of dollars annually. Furthermore, joint coordination will contribute to protecting biodiversity and creating new job opportunities in green economy sectors, thus placing Middle Eastern countries on the global map of sustainable development.
