Achieving Climate Targets via the Circular Carbon Economy: The Case of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Clean hydrocarbon technologies have a key role to play in achieving the circular carbon economy while meeting climate targets in many countries around the world. The aim of this work is to assess which technology, or combination of technologies, is the most cost-effective in achieving climate targets by 2030 leading to a quick and smooth transition to a low carbon energy system in Saudi Arabia and similar oil-based economies. We find that low carbon policy support by banning crude oil in power generation, leads to accelerated underground oil gasification, in the absence of carbon prices. We also find that setting a policy for carbon reduction targets leads to a more flexible energy system transition enabling more technologies in the mix with an increasing transition period. Our results also show that clean hydrocarbon technologies may be sufficient to achieve new climate targets, as shown by the stabilised emissions in scenario 3 by 2025, without the implementation of renewable sources of energy which most studies do not include. We propose that by investing in clean hydrocarbon technologies over the short term, the transition towards a low carbon economy will be accelerated while developing renewable sources of energy over the long term.

Competitive Sustainability of Saudi Companies through Digitalization and the Circular Carbon Economy Model: A Bold Contribution to the Vision 2030 Agenda in Saudi Arabia

“…Despite the progress made in recent years in terms of stabilizing CO 2 emissions in Saudi Arabia, there is still a significant gap in understanding the most effective strategies for improving all aspects of sustainability in Saudi companies [14,15,[17][18][19]. This study aims to address this gap by examining the potential of digitalization and the circular carbon economy model to improve sustainability in Saudi companies, specifically in the context of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.…”

Knowledge Mapping and Institutional Prospects on Circular Carbon Economy Based on Scientometric Analysis

“…After running, the author collaboration map is obtained, and the size of nodes in the map is directly proportional to the author's articles. Then, we import the literature mentioned above into Citespace software, take one year as a time slice, then set the top 50 items and select the top 10% as the most cited in each time slice at the same time, as well as setting the thresholds of C, CC, and CCV to (2,3,15), (3,3,20), and (3,3,20). After running, we obtain the organization cooperation map, national or regional cooperation map, literature co-citation map, keyword co-occurrence map, keyword clustering map, etc.…”

“…Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) is a comprehensive system that relies on managing and cutting carbon dioxide emissions through an integrated management system of the environment and economy with the support of modern technology [1]. Greenhouse gas emission reduction has gradually become the focus of academic circles facing the intensification of global climate problems [2,3]. In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change first put forward the common but differentiated responsibilities in carbon emission reduction, which contained the meaning of cutting greenhouse gas.…”

Circular Carbon Economy (CCE): A Way to Invest CO2 and Protect the Environment, a Review

“…Uthmaniyah is the Middle East's largest carbon EOR initiative that aims to reduce emissions and improve oil extraction [67]. CO 2 -EOR reduces the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 30-40%, compared to natural sources [68].…”