WEF24: Saudi Climate Envoy – Kingdom setting standards for global energy, resource security

Saudi Arabia highlighted its commitment to collaborating with the global community to meet the growing global demand for energy while driving green transformations, and building integrated economic resilience, today at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2024.

Speaking on the Kingdom’s commitment to strengthening the long-term resilience of the global resource nexus, His Excellency Adel A. Aljubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Member of the Council of Ministers and Envoy for Climate, said, “We are a responsible actor in the global community and we want to not follow the standards, we want to set the standards,” in a session on ‘Bold Steps for a Sustainable MENA’.

“The world’s need for energy keeps expanding, and that extra need for energy has to be accommodated using alternative sources of energy. Renewables are a clear favorite,” Aljubeir added, pointing to the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI), which has implemented more than 80 public and private sector initiatives, representing an investment of over $188 billion towards achieving global climate goals.

Earlier in a session on ‘Resilience: What It Means and What to Do About It’, His Excellency Mohammed A. Aljadaan, Minister of Finance stressed the need for “significant structural reform” for countries to improve resilience “on an institutional level, a fiscal level, and a regulatory level. Then you need to engage the private sector and your own people, making sure you’re providing them with safety nets in case of shocks,” he said.

His Excellency Bandar I. Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said in a session on ‘Supply Chains of the Future’ high-growth sectors including logistics, manufacturing and mining are becoming critical drivers of the Kingdom’s nationwide diversification.

“Saudi Arabia offers a combination of enablers, including energy and petrochemicals, but also our geographic location.” In industry, Alkhorayef added, Saudi Arabia is working with investors to help build and export competitive, green products, “not only in the long-term, but in the medium-term.”

Discussing the Kingdom’s rapid economic transformation since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030, which is focused on developing new sectors, His Excellency Faisal F. Alibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning said, “Saudi has a playbook that everybody is looking into, and this playbook is all about bold movement.

“In Saudi, we wanted to accelerate our diversification fast. We prioritized 13 sectors that created the conditions for profitability for the private sector,” Alibrahim added, noting that “this is the time where collaboration can lead to the acceleration of innovation,” in a session on ‘Investors of First Resort: Government Inc.’

A session took place at Saudi House under the Bold Visions Series. ‘The Future of Banking and Technology in Saudi Arabia: What it Means for Investors’ hosted Ibrahim Almubarak, Assistant Minister of Investment, Saudi Arabia and CEO of the Saudi Investment Promotion Agency (SIPA), and Eng. Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Zamil, Chairman, Gulf International Bank, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.