Saudi Arabia’s Journey toward Net-Zero Emissions: Progress and Challenges

Abstract

Combating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become an obligation for countries that ratified the Paris Agreement. Saudi Arabia, as a member of the Paris Agreement, pledged to achieve net zero emissions (NZE) by 2060. This endeavor is challenging for all countries. This paper provides an analysis and assessment of the Saudi measures to achieve NZE by 2060. The analysis reveals that Saudi Arabia will reduce the total net emissions to 49.67 Mt of CO2eq, whereas under a business-as-usual scenario, the emissions would reach 1.724 million tons (Mt) of CO2 equivalent (CO2eq). The study reveals that sectors conducting environmental, social, and governance ratings (ESG) and those where the government is a stakeholder are on the right track and will facilitate the government’s efforts in reaching NZE. The gap in reaching NZE will be mainly due to the Saudi steel and cement industries.

A GIS-based approach to determining optimal location for decentralized inner city smart filters: Toward net zero cities

“…Decarbonization and intelligence are thus definitive choices for the future development of cities. KSA has pledged to reduce 30 % of its emissions by the year 2030 and this can only be achieved by removing CO2 from the air [ 48 ]. This ambitious goal can only be achieved through innovative technologies.…”

“…The phenomenon of greenhouse gas (GHG) is also the result of urban spatial patterns. CO 2 constitutes the major share of GHGs, representing almost 72 % [ 48 ] which is mainly caused by human activities including transportation, heat, and burning of fossil fuels [ 50 ]. Fig.…”

“…Alsahli and Al-Harbi [ 85 ], assigned weights of 40, 30, 20, and 10 % respectively for population, roads, industry, and high-traffic areas. According to Al-Sinan et al [ 48 ], in Saudi Arabia, 22 % of CO 2 emissions are due to road transport. These percentages were adopted and used to assign the weights to each criterion.…”

“…In contrast with the G20 range of 0.05–1.64, the Kingdom's death-attributable rate is 1.12 for every 1000 people per year [ 47 ]. After KSA's promising Vision 2030 in 2016, the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) was inaugurated with the aim of achieving net zero carbon by 2060 [ 48 ].…”

Transforming Saudi Arabia’s Energy Landscape towards a Sustainable Future: Progress of Solar Photovoltaic Energy Deployment

“…Two of the most notable large-scale solar projects are the Sakaka solar PV project and the Sudair solar PV project. The Sakaka solar PV project is located in the Al-Jouf region of Saudi Arabia and has a total capacity of 300 MW [11,12], whereas the Sudair solar PV project, located in Riyadh, has a capacity of 1.5 GW [13,14].…”