Riyadh, October 26 (BNA) His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the personal representative of His Majesty the King, Chairman of the Supreme Council for the Environment, deputizes His Excellency Dr. Muhammad bin Mubarak bin Dina as Minister of the United Arab Emirates. The Special Envoy for Oil and the Environment and the Special Envoy for Climate Affairs, to attend the ministerial meeting to prepare for the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Bin Dina expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the conference, praising the strong brotherly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He praised the efforts exerted to achieve the visions and aspirations of the two brotherly countries regarding the development of the environment sector.
In his speech to the meeting, Dr. Bin Dina stressed the importance of achieving greater regional consensus in environmental issues and moving forward towards approving the document of the Green Middle East Initiative. He praised the content of the initiative document aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and unifying common environmental visions among the countries of the Middle East to achieve sustainable development goals and preserve biodiversity in the region.
The Minister of Oil and Environment referred to the environmental and climatic challenges that led to the deterioration of agricultural land and food security. He stressed the need to benefit from modern science and expertise to come up with innovative solutions and effective development programs to reduce land degradation, increase the green area, and preserve biodiversity.
He explained that the Kingdom of Bahrain has formed environmental committees and government agencies concerned with developing sustainability programmes, policies and strategies in the environmental fields to enhance cooperation between governments, the private sector and the international community. He pointed out that the goal is to address the negative effects of environmental degradation and to adhere to the climate goals pledged by the Kingdom of Bahrain to the international community in terms of reducing carbon emissions and doubling green spaces.
In this context, the Minister of Oil and Environment affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to reach zero neutrality by 2060, which is part of the initiatives launched by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister during his participation. At the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) held in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
He noted that by 2035, emissions will be reduced by 30% through decarbonization initiatives, measures to enhance energy efficiency and a doubling of renewable energy sources. The 2035 goals also include decarbonization solutions, doubling the number of trees and direct investment in carbon capture technologies.
The Minister of Oil and Environment expressed his optimism about the success of the Green Middle East initiative in achieving sustainable development goals and improving the environmental situation in the region. He expressed his hope that the initiative would be a step forward towards achieving the well-being and beauty of the peoples of the region.
AOQ