Saudi Green Initiative

The Saudi Green Initiative is a national initiative announced by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on 14 Sha'ban 1442 AH, corresponding to 27 March 2021, charting the Kingdom's direction in protecting land and nature and placing them within a roadmap with clear and ambitious milestones. [1] The initiative works to expand vegetation cover, raise the proportion of protected areas, diversify energy sources, and reduce carbon emissions, alongside its accompanying regional initiative, the Middle East Green Initiative. [1]

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, announced the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative on 14 Sha'ban 1442 AH, corresponding to 27 March 2021, as a roadmap charting the direction of the Kingdom and the region in protecting land and nature. [1]

The announcement reinforced existing environmental efforts, including a full restructuring of the environmental sector, the establishment of the Special Forces for Environmental Security in 2019, a rise in the coverage of natural reserves from 4 percent to more than 14 percent, a 40 percent growth in the Kingdom's vegetation cover over the preceding four years, and the achievement of the best carbon emission level among oil-producing countries. [1]

The initiative includes the planting of 10 billion trees within the Kingdom over the coming decades, equivalent to rehabilitating about 40 million hectares of degraded land and increasing the area currently covered by trees to 12 times its current size. [1]

This represents a contribution of more than 4 percent to the goals of the global initiative to reduce land degradation and natural habitats, and 1 percent of the global target of planting one trillion trees. [1]

The initiative works to raise the proportion of protected areas to more than 30 percent of the Kingdom's land area, estimated at about 600,000 square kilometres, exceeding the current global target of protecting 17 percent of each country's land, and it includes initiatives to protect the marine and coastal environment. [1]

The initiative aims to reduce carbon emissions by more than 4 percent of global contributions, through renewable energy projects that will supply 50 percent of electricity generation within the Kingdom by 2030, and clean hydrocarbon technology projects that will remove more than 130 million tonnes of carbon emissions. [1] The targets also include raising the rate of waste diverted from landfills to 94 percent. [1]

The Kingdom, in partnership with the countries of the Middle East, seeks to plant an additional 40 billion trees, with the programme aiming to plant 50 billion trees, the largest reforestation programme in the world. [1] The project will restore an area equivalent to 200 million hectares of degraded land, or 5 percent of the global target of planting one trillion trees, and will achieve a reduction of 2.5 percent in global carbon rates. [1]

The Kingdom hosted the first session of the initiative's Ministerial Council in Jeddah in 2024 with the participation of more than 29 countries and international organisations, and the second session in Jeddah on 29 January 2026 with the participation of 31 member regional states from Asia and Africa in addition to the United Kingdom as an observer, after the establishment of the initiative's General Secretariat in Riyadh and the adoption of its charter and governance. [7]

Riyadh hosted, from 23 to 25 October 2021, the inaugural edition of the Saudi Green Initiative Forum and the Middle East Green Initiative Summit, with the participation of heads of state, government officials, chief executives of major companies, heads of international organisations, academics, and specialists in the environmental field. [2]

The first Middle East Green Initiative Summit was held in Riyadh on 25 October 2021, at which the Kingdom announced the establishment of an international cooperation platform for the circular carbon economy, a regional centre for climate change, a regional complex for carbon capture, use and storage, a regional centre for early warning of storms, a regional centre for the sustainable development of fisheries, a regional programme for cloud seeding, a global initiative for clean fuel solutions serving more than 750 million people, and a fund for investment in circular carbon economy technologies, with total investment approaching 39 billion riyals, of which the Kingdom contributes about 15 percent, along with the establishment of the non-profit Green Initiative Foundation. [4]

The second edition of the forum was held in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt in 2022 in conjunction with the COP27 Conference of the Parties, at which major projects were unveiled, including the launch of the Circular Carbon Economy Knowledge Centre and the establishment of a regional centre to accelerate emissions reduction in cooperation with ESCWA. [3] The third edition was held in Dubai in 2023 in conjunction with the COP28 Conference of the Parties, at which the Kingdom revealed a 300 percent increase in the share of renewable energy in the domestic energy mix since 2022, and the planting of more than 43 million trees as part of ongoing efforts to achieve the goal of planting 10 billion trees. [3]

Riyadh hosted the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification from 2 to 13 December 2024, the largest-ever meeting of the parties to the convention, the first of its kind in the Middle East, and the largest multilateral conference the Kingdom has ever hosted. [3]

The fourth edition of the Saudi Green Initiative Forum was held under the slogan "By Our Nature, We Take the Initiative" on 3–4 December 2024 in the initiative's pavilion in the Green Zone in Riyadh, and featured 25 discussion sessions with the participation of 50 speakers and more than 1,500 visitors from the public and private sectors; five new initiatives with a total value of 225 million Saudi riyals were announced, and 14 memoranda of understanding were signed. [5]

The Crown Prince announced during the first edition of the Saudi Green Initiative Forum in Riyadh in October 2021 the Kingdom's ambition to achieve net zero by 2060 through the circular carbon economy approach. [3]

From the launch of the initiative in 2021 until December 2024, 6.2 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity were developed and connected to the grid, and projects with a capacity of 20 gigawatts were tendered during the year, bringing the total capacity under development to 44.2 gigawatts, enough to supply more than 7 million homes. [5]

Some 118,000 hectares of degraded land were rehabilitated, equivalent to the planting of more than 100 million trees, approaching the interim target of rehabilitating 8 million hectares by 2030, alongside the protection of 18.1 percent of terrestrial areas and 6.49 percent of marine areas, and the resettlement of more than 7,000 endangered wild species in natural reserves. [5]

The Kingdom celebrates Saudi Green Initiative Day on 27 March each year, a national occasion coinciding with the anniversary of the launch of the initiative on the same day in 2021, aimed at enhancing environmental awareness and uniting the efforts of all segments of society in environmental work. [6]

Q: When was the Saudi Green Initiative announced? A: On 14 Sha'ban 1442 AH, corresponding to 27 March 2021. [1]

Q: What are the initiative's main targets for afforestation and the protection of areas? A: The planting of 10 billion trees and the rehabilitation of about 40 million hectares of degraded land, and the raising of the proportion of protected areas to more than 30 percent of the Kingdom's land area. [1]

Q: What is the initiative's target for energy and emissions reduction? A: Renewable energy projects will supply 50 percent of electricity generation by 2030, with carbon emissions reduced by more than 4 percent of global contributions. [1]

Q: When does the Kingdom celebrate Saudi Green Initiative Day? A: On 27 March each year, coinciding with the anniversary of the launch of the initiative. [6]

Q: What is the relationship between the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative? A: The first is national within the Kingdom, and the second is regional, in which the Kingdom participates with the countries of the Middle East and which targets the planting of 50 billion trees. [1]

The Saudi Green Initiative is a national framework for protecting the environment and nature and diversifying energy sources, complementing national development efforts in the Kingdom, including Saudi Vision 2030. Related topics on the platform include Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve and Farasan Islands Reserve.