Arab News Japan
TOKYO: Saudi Arabia and UAE made contributions to the Time to Act Forum in Tokyo on Wednesday as the international climate conference COP28 in Dubai approaches at the end of November.
Mohammed Al-Dahlawi from the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia talked about the Red Sea Project, which concerns regenerative tourism and will include 50 hotel facilities completely powered by renewable sources. It is being designed by Japanese architect KUMA Kengo.
Al-Dahlawi also highlighted the collaboration with Japanese companies, which can obtain low carbon credits in exchange for their collaboration with the Kingdom, and outlined measures taken by his government to help reduce the effects of climate change.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken decisive action toward achieving a more sustainable future,” he said. “The Saudi Green Initiative unites environmental protection, energy transition and a sustainability program with the overarching aim of offsetting and reducing carbon emissions.”
Shihab Al Faheem, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, who concluded the session, talked about the key points to be developed heading towards COP28 in Dubai. “Accelerating energy transition, addressing climate finance, prioritizing people and encouraging total inclusiveness for all,” he said.
“With COP28 being less than a month away, I think it’s very important for us to see the results of the first global stocktake. This is the time to show our commitment to reversing climate change and accelerating decarbonisation.”
Speakers agreed that fossil fuels still have a lot of importance in the real economy, along with nuclear energy and it was not immediately possible to move directly to renewable energies without global finance making sufficient efforts to achieve this.
