Saudi Arabia hosts 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World

The 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World has been held in Jeddah under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, according to UNA.

The conference organized by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) was held between Oct. 18 and 19.

In his opening speech, Saudi Minister of Environment Abdulrahman al-Fadley welcomed environment ministers from 52 countries and delegates from 30 regional and international organizations dedicated to environmental matters.

He stressed that cooperation and collaboration between the Islamic nations play a critical role in environment protection, sustainability, and tackling global environmental challenges.

The Minister expressed the solidarity of Saudi Arabia with the Palestinian people and requested the international community to take a responsible stance and emphasized the necessity of adhering to the provisions of international and humanitarian laws.

Furthermore, he expressed solidarity of Saudi Arabia with Morocco and Libya while facing the aftermath of recent natural disasters in their countries.

“Preserving the environment is one of the pillars of Saudi Vision 2030, as it adopted the National Environment Strategy, established the fund and five environmental centers, as well as launched initiatives such as the Saudi Green Initiative and regionally Middle East Green Initiative.”

He indicated the Green Initiatives aim to develop vegetation cover, raise conservations to 30 percent, and adopt the carbon circular economy approach to reach zero neutrality in 2060.

The Middle East Green Initiatives aim to strengthen regional cooperation to combat desertification and preserve vegetation and its biodiversity. It also seeks to achieve food security, adapt to climate change, and improve the quality of life.

Saudi Arabia cooperated with many countries and international organizations to launch the Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats Platform, announced Fadley.

The platform aims to accelerate research and development to preserve coral reefs and reduce land degradation and loss of wild habitats, which was launched by G20 leaders during the Kingdom’s presidency of the group’s meetings in 2020.

Last month, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the establishment of the Global Water Organization, headquartered in Riyadh.

Next year, Saudi Arabia will host the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP16) and World Environment Day 2024.

Fadley congratulated the recipients of the Kingdom Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World during its third session.

Also at the ceremony, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hussein Taha asserted the importance of environmental security and its comprehensive impact.

He indicated that this requires urgent and coordinated action from all countries, especially since the Islamic world is one of the regions of the world most affected by global climate change.

Taha asserted that the concerns of Islamic nations must be heard at various international and global forums concerned with environmental issues.

He lauded the efforts at the 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World, indicated that its results will be a very important towards preparing the Islamic community for the upcoming COP28 conference in the UAE.

In turn, Director-General of the ICESCO Salim al-Malik mentioned environmental challenges facing the Islamic world, including issues of global warming, the surge in greenhouse gas emissions, rising global temperatures, loss of biodiversity, and plastic pollution.

He further noted that the scale of these challenges places a significant responsibility on the Islamic world.

Malik addressed the food waste issue, indicating that it amounts to 1.3 billion tons annually, enough to feed three billion people.

Climate crisis is the result of mismanagement, which requires decision-makers to work diligently to find radical solutions, increase the capital of the green economy, support its innovations, and make the best use of the digital and information revolution, said Malik.