Saudi Arabia wants to plant 10 billion trees

The desert, near Jeddah.

AFP - FRANCK FIFE

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

The main oil exporter in the world, Saudi Arabia has unveiled an ambitious program dedicated to the fight against climate change.

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With the “Saudi Green Initiative”, Saudi Arabia plans to reduce CO2 emissions by increasing the share of renewable energies in its energy consumption to 50% by 2030, announced the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman .

The country also wants to plant trees, a lot of trees, ten billion in ten years.

But between the announcement effects of "MBS" and the reality, there is a difference.

“ 

There is an ecological conversion largely for the image, even if on the bottom there is undoubtedly an energy transition strategy.

In the display, it is to show that Saudi Arabia is not a bad student.

We can recall that, during the COP21 of 2015, Riyadh had nevertheless obstructed so that there is a limit of increase to 1.5 degrees, in the Paris agreements.

There is, of course, an ambiguity, ” 

explains David Rigoulet-Roze, researcher at IFAS and editor-in-chief of the journal Orients Stratégiques.

Saudi Arabia in water stress

The Saudi statement does not specify how the authorities will go about planting so many trees, then taking care of them, in a largely desert territory with extremely limited water resources. 

“Afterwards, the question is asked about the modalities,

continues David Rigoulet-Roze

.

We can wonder how to predict tens of billions of tree seedlings in a desert region, even though the country's water consumption is one of the highest in the world.

Saudi Arabia lives in a state of water stress, with record consumption per capita and an overconsumption of fossil groundwater.

So there are indeed contradictions ”

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  • Saudi Arabia

  • Environment

  • Mohammed bin salman

  • Climate change

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