COP27: Biden says the climate crisis is about the ‘very life of the planet’

COP27: Biden says the climate crisis is about the ‘very life of the planet’
US President Joe Biden (Screenshot)
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Updated 11 November 2022

COP27: Biden says the climate crisis is about the ‘very life of the planet’

COP27: Biden says the climate crisis is about the ‘very life of the planet’

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: US President Joe Biden addressed the COP27 climate conference in Egypt on Thursday, saying the global climate crisis posed an existential threat to the planet and promising that the US was doing its part to combat it.

“The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security, and the very life of the planet,” Biden said, before outlining steps the US, the world’s second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, was taking.

“I can stand here as president of the United States of America and say with confidence, the United States of America will meet our emissions targets by 2030,” he said

His speech was intended to remind government representatives gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh to keep alive a goal of keeping the global average temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius to avert the worst impacts of planetary warming. It came even as a slew of crises — from a land war in Europe to rampant inflation — distract international focus.

“Against this backdrop, it’s more urgent than ever that we double down on our climate commitments. Russia’s war only enhances the urgency of the need to transition the world off its dependence on fossil fuels,” he said.

Prior to his arrival, Biden’s administration sought to set the stage by unveiling a domestic plan to crack down hard on the US oil and gas industry’s emissions of methane, one of the most powerful greenhouse gases, in a move that defied months of lobbying by drillers.

Washington and the EU were also planning to issue a joint declaration on Friday pledging more action on oil industry methane, building on an international deal launched last year and since signed by 119 nations to cut economy-wide emissions 30 percent this decade.

The announcements come under a cloud of skepticism that world governments are doing enough to address warming.

A UN report released last week showed global emissions on track to rise 10.6 percent by 2030 compared with 2010 levels, even as devastating storms, droughts, wildfires and floods are already inflict billions of dollars in damage worldwide.

Scientists say emissions must instead drop 43 percent by that time to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures as targeted by the Paris Agreement of 2015 — the threshold above which climate change risks start spinning out of control.

Many countries, including the US and members of the EU, are also calling for increased supply of fossil fuels in the near-term to help bring down consumer energy prices that have spiked since Russia’s war on Ukraine.


Saudi Arabia and China tourism officials discuss Kingdom’s ambitious tourism target

Saudi Arabia and China tourism officials discuss Kingdom’s ambitious tourism target
Updated 10 sec ago

Saudi Arabia and China tourism officials discuss Kingdom’s ambitious tourism target

Saudi Arabia and China tourism officials discuss Kingdom’s ambitious tourism target

RIYADH: Saudi Tourism Authority’s CEO has held a meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism to discuss ways to elevate and enhance strategic collaborations in the tourism sector, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Fahd Hamidaddin held talks with Rao Quan amid the Kingdom’s efforts to attract more than 4 million Chinese tourists by the year 2030.

During the meeting, both sides agreed on the general terms of a Memorandum of Understanding to support this target. 

The two sides also settled to introduce and launch several joint tourism initiatives to develop human capacities working within the sector.

Saudi Ambassador to China Abdulrahman bin Ahmed Al-Harbi was also present during the meeting as officials discussed bilateral cooperation prospects in the sector.

In addition to this, the meeting also looked at ways to pave the way for a unified vision as well as efforts through relevant global organizations and associations.

Aside from tourism, the officials reflected on the outcomes of China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Kingdom back in December 2022.

The latest meeting came as part of a promotional tour held by the Saudi Tourism Authority in collaboration with its partners from the Saudi tourism sector in China in an attempt to showcase Saudi tourist destinations and build partnerships between the tourism sectors of both countries.

The tour kicked off in Beijing before moving to Shanghai, and finally Guangzhou.

Earlier this month, the authority completed a successful three days at ITB Berlin, the world’s largest trade fair for the industry. 

Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Saudi minister of tourism and chairman of the authority’s board of directors, opened the Saudi pavilion at the fair, which received a number of presidents, ministers, leaders, and other key officials. 

Al-Khateeb also met officials of major commercial bodies such as TUI Group and FTI Consulting, in addition to leaders of the UN World Tourism Organization and the World Travel and Tourism Council.

The Saudi Tourism Authority is working to develop, promote, and distribute packages and products in partnership with the private sector.

The authority also participates in tourism events, exhibitions, trade shows, and roadshows both locally and globally to measure the tourist experience and suggest ways to enhance it to the relevant stakeholders.


Matarat Holding inks deal with Egis to serve 26 airports in Saudi Arabia 

Matarat Holding inks deal with Egis to serve 26 airports in Saudi Arabia 
Updated 29 min 1 sec ago

Matarat Holding inks deal with Egis to serve 26 airports in Saudi Arabia 

Matarat Holding inks deal with Egis to serve 26 airports in Saudi Arabia 

RIYADH: Saudi state-owned aviation management firm Matarat Holding Co. has inked a three-year contract with consulting company Egis to serve 26 airports in Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom pushes to develop a global aviation hub in line with the goals outlined in Vision 2030.  

The contract was signed by Matarat’s CEO Mohammed Almaghlouth and Egis’ CEO in the Middle East and South Asia, Alaa AbuSiam, according to a press release.  

The three-year contract aims to establish phased project management portals, update airport project management policies and procedures, and provide technical support for planning and designing. The deal involved following up on the implementation of capital projects with Matarat subsidiaries including Riyadh Airports Co., Jeddah Airports, Dammam Airports, and Cluster2.  

“This contract focuses on providing support in several major areas and activities, which include strategic planning for projects, building an asset management guide, preparing a unified guide for engineering specifications for designing and implementing projects, and following up on continuous improvement of their performance,” said Turki Almubadal, executive vice president of Projects and Technical Affairs at Matarat.

He added that the signing of this contract will help the Kingdom achieve its National Aviation Strategy which aims to increase international destinations to 250 and passenger capacity to 330 million by 2030.  

“We are extremely delighted to be partnering with Matarat to be part of one of the most transformative projects in the Middle East region. The Kingdom’s strong commitment to the aviation sector as part of its 2030 Vision, will surely transform the country into a global hub connecting Asia, Europe and Africa,” said AbuSiam.   

Formerly known as Saudi Civil Aviation Holding Co., Matarat Holding Co. was established in 2013 by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation.  

The company aims to develop the Kingdom’s airports and improve their performance, along with contributing to Saudi Arabia’s sustainable development process in the aviation sector.  


OPEC+ likely to stick to its guns despite price slump, delegates say

OPEC+ likely to stick to its guns despite price slump, delegates say
Updated 41 min 52 sec ago

OPEC+ likely to stick to its guns despite price slump, delegates say

OPEC+ likely to stick to its guns despite price slump, delegates say

LONDON: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+, is likely to stick to its deal on output cuts of 2 million barrels per day until the end of the year, even after a banking crisis sent crude prices plunging, three delegates from the producer group told Reuters.

Oil prices hit 15-month lows on Monday in response to the banking crisis that followed the collapse of two US lenders and resulted in Credit Suisse being rescued by Switzerland's biggest bank UBS.

Brent crude was trading around $75 a barrel on Wednesday morning.

Last October OPEC+, which includes Russia, agreed steep output cuts of 2 million bpd from November until the end of 2023 despite major consumers calling for increases in production.

That decision helped to push Brent close to $100 a barrel, but prices have come under pressure since then as rising interest rates to combat high inflation threaten to stymie oil demand growth.

Falling oil prices are a problem for most of the group's members because their economies rely heavily on oil revenue.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Tuesday said that Moscow will continue with a 500,000-bpd production cut it announced last month, lasting until the end of June.

"This is only a unilateral cut of Russia," one of the delegates said.

"No changes for the group until the end of year," he added.

Another delegate added that no further cuts were planned by the group.

A third delegate said the recent slump in oil prices was related to speculation in the financial market, not market fundamentals.

The heads of top oil traders and hedge funds that spoke at an industry event this week said that they expected oil prices to strengthen by the end of the year as continued easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China drive up demand in the world's biggest oil importer.

Pierre Andurand, founder of hedge fund Andurand Capital, was the most bullish and forecast a potential Brent oil price of $140 a barrel by the end of the year.

In its most recent monthly report, OPEC upgraded its forecast for Chinese oil demand growth this year but maintained its projection for global demand growth at 2.32 million bpd.

OPEC+ is due to hold a virtual meeting of its ministerial committee, which includes Russia and Saudi Arabia, on April 3 before a full ministerial meeting in Vienna on June 4.


Saudi real estate rental deals up 81% to reach $20.2bn

Saudi real estate rental deals up 81% to reach $20.2bn
Updated 42 min 10 sec ago

Saudi real estate rental deals up 81% to reach $20.2bn

Saudi real estate rental deals up 81% to reach $20.2bn

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s residential and commercial rent deals almost doubled in value last year to reach SR76 billion ($20.2 billion) compared to SR41.9 billion in 2021. 

According to data by the Real Estate General Authority Ejar, the total value of commercial rent transactions amounted to SR40.9 billion last year, while those of residential properties reached SR35.1 billion. 

In residential, the total value of apartment rent deals witnessed a 76 percent year-on-year increase in 2022 to stand at SR29.6 billion.  

The total value of floor deals amounted to about SR3.1 billion, an increase of 51 percent compared to 2021, while the total value of villa deals came in at SR 2.9 billion – a rise of 49 percent.  

Commercial deals for shops grew 108 percent in total value, reaching SR17.4 billion during 2022 while the total value of exhibition and office deals jumped 157 percent and 77 percent to SR7.2 billion and SR4 billion, respectively. 

In terms of cities, Riyadh came first with the highest number of rent deals in 2022 valued at SR24.7 billion, followed by Jeddah with SR17 billion and Makkah at SR4.9 billion. 

The lowest were Najran, at SR249 million, followed by Arar with SR226 million and Al Bahah at SR148 million. 

Riyadh was the highest city in terms of unit supply standing at 470,000 residential units and 181,000 commercial units in 2022. 

Jeddah was the second highest city in terms of supply with 357,000 residential units, up 59 percent year-on-year, and 108,000 commercial units, up 84 percent. 

The volume of units offered for rent amounted to 3.2 million units during 2022, a 53 percent yearly rise, with more than 2.4 million residential units. The volume of commercial units offered for rent amounted to more than 800,000 units. 

Ejar is a comprehensive system that aims to develop the housing and real estate sector in Saudi Arabia by creating sustainable solutions for the challenges of the real estate market that preserve the rights of all parties concerned with the lease. 


Saudi Arabia’s NDMC closes March sukuk issuance at $897m

Saudi Arabia’s NDMC closes March sukuk issuance at $897m
Updated 27 min 9 sec ago

Saudi Arabia’s NDMC closes March sukuk issuance at $897m

Saudi Arabia’s NDMC closes March sukuk issuance at $897m

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center announced the closure of the Riyal-denominated sukuk program issuance for March with the total bid amount received at SR8.34 billion ($2.2 billion).   

The total amount allocated was SR3.37 billion with the sukuk issuance divided into tranches — the first has a size of SR2.77 billion maturing in 2031 and the second at SR600 million maturing in 2037.  

Also called an Islamic bond, sukuk is a debt product issued according to Shariah or Islamic laws.    

“This issuance confirms the NDMC's statement in the mid of February of this year that NDMC will continue, in accordance with the approved Annual Borrowing Plan, to consider additional funding activities subject to market conditions and through available funding channels locally or internationally,” NDMC’s website stated.  

This is to ensure the Kingdom's continuous presence in debt markets and manage the debt repayments for the coming years while considering market movements and the government debt portfolio risk management, the statement added.  

Last month, NDCM closed the issuance of SR3.65 billion while the total value of all bids received for February stood at SR3.71 billion.  

Also divided into two tranches, February sukuk issuance had a size of SR7.5 billion in the first tranche maturing in 2030. The second tranche is valued at SR5.6 billion with the maturity year of 2034. 

The program saw a decrease of SR280 million in the amount allocated in March compared to February despite seeing a massive increase in bids received month-over-month.  

According to an S&P Global report released in January, global sukuk issuances are expected to continue declining in 2023 to about $150 billion compared to $155.8 billion in 2022 and $170.4 billion in 2021.    

The Saudi Riyal Sukuk Program is one of the Kingdom’s financing tools where the Ministry of Finance issues local instruments that are then organized by the NDMC and later divided into monthly tranches for investors.