Riyadh : Personal Representative of His Majesty the King, President of the Supreme Council for Environment (SCE), His Highness Shaikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, has deputized Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak bin Daina, the Minister of Oil and Environment and Special Envoy for Climate Affairs, to attend the ministerial meeting to prepare for the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit, which convened in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Dr. bin Daina expressed thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the conference, commending strong fraternal relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and KSA. He praised the efforts being made to achieve the visions and aspirations of the two brotherly countries regarding development of the environmental sector.
Addressing the meeting, Dr. bin Daina emphasized the importance of achieving more regional consensus in environmental matters and moving forward towards approving the document of the Middle East Green Initiative. He praised the content of the initiative’s document aimed at fostering regional cooperation and unifying joint environmental visions between the Middle East countries to achieve the sustainable development goals and preserve biodiversity in the region.
The Minister of Oil and Environment pointed 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 experiences to work out innovative solutions and effective development programmes 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 noted that the aim is to tackle the negative effects of environmental degradation and commit to the climate goals pledged by the Kingdom of Bahrain to the international community regarding the reduction of Carbon emissions and the doubling of green areas.
In this context, the Minister of Oil and Environment affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to reaching 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 in the 26th conference of the parties to The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) which was held in Glasgow, the United Kingdom.
He pointed out that by 2035, emissions will be reduced by 30% through decarbonization initiatives and measures to enhance energy efficiency and double the sources of renewable energy. The goals for 2035 also include decarbonization solutions which consist in doubling the number of trees and investing directly in the carbon capture technologies.
The Minister of Oil and Environment expressed his optimism about the success of the Middle East Green Initiative in achieving the goals of sustainable development and improving the environmental situation in the region. He expressed hope the initiative would be a step forward towards achieving the well-being of peoples and the beauty of the region.
