Two years after the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative, Saudi Arabia reached the top position among Arab countries and the twentieth globally, in carbon dioxide emissions reduction.

In March 2021, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the Saudi Arabia Green and Green Middle East initiatives, which he said will outline the direction of the Kingdom and the region in protecting land and nature and contribute strongly to achieving global environment goals.

The Ministry of Energy revealed on Tuesday several projects and achievements in the sector, including 17 new renewable energy projects with a capacity of 13.76 gigawatts to remove the equivalent amount of 23.1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The ministry also announced the launch of the world’s largest complex for the production of clean hydrogen, with will have a production capacity of 250,000 tons annually by 2026.

Moreover, the ministry presented the first phase of the largest regional center for capturing, transporting and storing carbon dioxide in Jubail Industrial City, with a capacity of 9 million tons annually by 2027, and a maximum capacity of 44 million tons in 2035.

It added that Saudi Arabia ranked first in the Arab world, and 20th globally in terms of carbon dioxide emissions reduction.

The two initiatives launched by the Saudi crown prince will raise the vegetation cover, reduce carbon emissions, combat pollution and land degradation, and preserve marine life.

They also focus on raising the proportion of protected areas to more than 30 percent of Saudi land, reduce carbon emissions by more than 4 percent of global contributions, through renewable energy projects that will provide 50 percent of electricity production within the Kingdom by 2030.

The initiatives will seek to eliminate more than 130 million tons of emissions through clean hydrocarbons technologies, in addition to diverting 94% of waste from landfills.