Can Saudi Arabia, the world’s second largest oil producer, become a global force tackling the climate crisis?

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The kingdom, whose vast wealth is grounded in fossil fuels, unveiled its “Saudi Arabia Green Initiative” along with a “Middle East Green Initiative”, part of a pledge to reduce carbon emissions and slow desertification. Saudi Arabia is the second largest oil-producing nation after the US, with 1.8 million barrels per day in 2019, 12.4 per cent of the global total. open image in gallery Independent analysis by scientists at Climate Action Tracker has deemed Saudi Arabia’s actions to tackle climate change as “critically insufficient” The expansion of Saudi’s climate action comes not a second too soon, both for global efforts and the country’s 34 million people, two-thirds of whom are under 35 and will bear the brunt of worsening impacts. And while the Covid-19 pandemic and plummeting global oil demand has dented the Saudi economy, there are still significant resources to deploy MBS’s “Saudi Vision 2030” plan in diversifying the kingdom’s economy away from oil.