Iran foreign minister to meet Saudi counterpart in near future
Iran also announced its readiness to reopen the two embassies
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on March 10 to re-establish relations
Updated 20 March 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Sunday he will meet his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan “in the near future”, adding that three locations have been proposed for the meeting.
Amirabdollahian made it clear that based on the latest messages exchanged with Saudi Arabia, Iran also announced its readiness to reopen the two embassies.
“We agreed with Saudi Arabia on visits by technical delegations for both embassies in preparation for their opening,” he added.
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on March 10 to re-establish relations and re-open embassies within two months after years of hostility, following talks in China.
On Yemen, the Iranian minister said that the situation in Yemen is an internal matter, but added that “we are working to stabilize the region in cooperation with Saudi Arabia.”
“We will not accept any threat to our security from neighboring countries,” he said.
Anatomy of a disaster
Two decades later, Iraqis are still paying the price for Bush's ill-judged war
How the Saudi Green Initiative has moved from ambition to action, two years on
Two-year anniversary of SGI’s launch seen as a milestone on the path to a sustainable future
The anniversary is being celebrated as a whole-of-society effort to usher in a greener future
Updated 29 March 2023
Rawan Radwan
JEDDAH: When one thinks of Saudi Arabia, one imagines scenes of rolling sand dunes as far as the eye can see — a vision not far from the truth in some of the more remote corners of the peninsula.
Looking closer at this vast landscape and its sprawling urban areas, however, many would be surprised by the vast green spaces now changing the face of the Kingdom, from dense forests to lush city parks.
Two years ago, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched one of the world’s most significant climate initiatives, which set out to enhance the quality of life while integrating environmental protection, energy transition and sustainability programs.
Green cover of Riyadh. (RCRC)
Celebrating its second anniversary, the Saudi Green Initiative, an ambitious multi-entity collaboration, has already reached several important milestones since its launch.
It has made a significant dent in its target of planting 10 billion trees across Saudi Arabia, chalking up 18 million to date.
Of the 40 million hectares of degraded land it aims to rehabilitate, 60,000 hectares have been restored, while more than 60 sites have been set aside for the sustainable planting of trees across the Kingdom.
INNUMBERS
2 Years since Saudi Green Initiative was launched.
10 billion Target number of trees to be planted.
18 million Trees planted in Saudi Arabia in 2022.
60,000 Hectares of land rehabilitated in 2022.
250,000 Cultivated shrubs in AlUla nurseries.
62 Sites approved for tree planting.
150,000 Homes powered by renewable energy.
1,200 Endangered animals rewilded.
Historically, most resources for conservation efforts have been invested in areas considered wild and, therefore, less populated. Preserving these “untouched” places is critical for many reasons.
However, due to a noticeable increase in annual heat waves and extreme weather patterns, scientists and urban planners have turned their focus on urban areas to develop new strategies for resilient built environments.
For decades, rapid urbanization across the Kingdom and the lack of sustainable development on the ground led to polluted air, soaring temperatures, severe dust storms, and other harmful byproducts.
This led to the rise of the urban heat island effect — a phenomenon that occurs when cities replace land with dense concentrations of buildings, pavement, and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat.
Scientists at Nanjing and Yale Universities analyzed satellite data from across 2,000 cities around the world from 2002 to 2021. They found that cities are warming by a rate of 0.56 degrees Celsius per decade during the day and 0.43 C per decade at night.
The study compared the rise in temperatures to that of rural areas and found that urban areas are warming 29 percent faster on average.
This data should ring alarm bells for any nation with growing ambitions and growing cities.
In recent years, an international team of climate scientists, economists, and energy systems modelers have built a range of new “pathways” that examine how global society, demographics, and economics might change over the next century.
They are collectively known as the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, which analyze how the world might evolve in the absence of climate policy and how different levels of climate change mitigation could be achieved in five different ways.
According to the G20 Climate Risk Atlas, Saudi Arabia will experience severe climate impacts if it follows a high-emissions pathway. Without urgent action, the Kingdom will see an 88 percent increase in the frequency of agricultural drought by 2050.
Heatwaves will last longer, and the combination of sea level rise, coastal erosion, and more extreme weather events will cause chaos for Saudi Arabia’s economy, which stands to lose around 12.2 percent of its gross domestic product by 2050 if it fails to act.
Data analysis from the Climate Change Knowledge Portal’s simulations shows that a rise in temperatures in the Kingdom is evident in the coming decades.
However, research has also shown that large variations in afforestation-related climate cooling can modify local surface temperatures and reduce them.
Saudi Arabia is committed to making a sizable impact on rising temperatures through collaborations between government entities, the private sector, and local communities.
TIMELINE
2016 King Salman launches renewable energy initiative.
2017 National Renewable Energy Program announced.
2018 Launch of the National Environment Strategy.
2019 Creation of the Special Forces for Environmental Security.
2020 “Let’s Make it Green” campaign launched to halt desertification.
2021 Inaugural Saudi Green Initiative Forum and Middle East Green Summit.
2030 Target to plant +600 million trees, protect 30 percent of land and sea, cut CO2 emissions by 278 million tons per annum.
2060 Target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
To increase vegetation in urban areas and mitigate the effects of climate change, 77 initiatives and programs were activated under the broader SGI umbrella.
The Green Saudi Cities initiative, launched by the Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing Ministry, aims to plant up to 32 million trees in public parks and gardens across the capital city, Riyadh.
The scheme will be conducted over three phases and will undertake new greening projects in Riyadh, equivalent to an area of 437.5 sq. km. The project is set to be completed by 2031.
The capital is also undergoing a massive overhaul as the Green Riyadh project sets out to increase the proportion of green space to 9 percent and to plant 7.5 million trees by 2030.
At the heart of it all, work is underway to establish the King Salman Park, the largest urban park project in the world, in which 11 sq. km of its planned 16.6 sq. km park will be covered in green spaces and more than a million trees.
Similarly, the “Green Qibla” initiative aims to plant 15 million trees in the holy city of Makkah. The project, led by the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, is projected to finish by 2036.
Abdulaziz Al-Moqbel, Director of the Green Riyadh Program, participating in planting the first seedlings in the afforestation project in Al-Jazeera neighborhood (east of Riyadh) on Thursday, March 16, within the activities of “Green Riyadh” program. (Supplied)
Other viable paths to increase sustainability and mirror the projected positive effects of urban greening projects and afforestation initiatives are renewable energy and the use of electric vehicles.
Efforts within cities to transform high-emissions human activities such as transportation, energy production, and waste generation are increasing as 150,000 homes are now powered by renewable energy sources.
Last month, the Kingdom’s first electric public transport bus began operating in the western city of Jeddah. Studies have shown that electric public transport, powered through renewable energy, could cut 250 million tons of carbon emissions by 2030, improve public health, and reduce noise and air pollution.
“We are working on using other alternatives for taxis and public transport, and we have various tests to use alternatives that reduce carbon emissions, as a target for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, until we reach a 45 percent reduction in carbon emissions in transportation, leading to clean energy,” Rumaih Al-Rumaih, acting chairman of the Public Transport Authority, told Arab News.
Environmental and wildlife conservation go hand in hand in changing Saudi Arabia. (NCW)
In 2018, a European Environment Agency report titled “Electric vehicles from life cycle and circular economy perspectives,” confirmed that the greenhouse gas emissions of EVs are approximately 17-30 percent lower than the emissions of petrol and diesel cars.
Although the study referred to EVs using the EU energy mix (petroleum products including crude oil, natural gas, renewable energy, nuclear energy, and solid fossil fuels), the report also stated that EVs emit zero exhaust emissions at the street level, improving local air quality.
Using such alternatives will not bring back the lakes and grassland that once spilled across the Arabian Peninsula centuries ago. However, tree planting is widely touted as one of the most effective tools to combat the climate crisis and restore biodiversity.
Government agencies, businesses, and communities across the Kingdom have all pledged to drive forward the large-scale tree planting initiative, not only to make the Kingdom greener but to create healthy ecosystems and improve the overall quality of life.
Saudi Cabinet condemns Qur’an burnings, calls for rejection of hate
Updated 29 March 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: The Cabinet condemned burning of copies of the Holy Qur’an and called for tolerance and respect and a rejection of spreading hatred and extremism, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Kingdom on Sunday strongly denounced the burning of the Qur’an by a Danish extremist group outside the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen.
King Salman, chaired the weekly government session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia condemns Al-Aqsa Mosque storming by Israeli settlers
Updated 29 March 2023
SPA
RIYADH: The Kingdom condemns the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers, under the protection of occupation forces, a Saudi foreign ministry source said.
The ministry emphasized that such actions undermine peace efforts and violate international principles and norms regarding respect for religious sanctities. The ministry also reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to supporting all efforts at ending the occupation and reaching a just and comprehensive solution that enables Palestinians to establish an independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
RIYADH: When fasting from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan many people can overlook the importance of a well-rounded diet and either overeat or fail to ingest enough nutrients for the day.
Dr. Mohammed Baker Alawamy, a consultant adult gastroenterologist and therapeutic endoscopist from Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, highlighted several ways of keeping healthy this Ramadan through diet and exercise.
“Drink ample amounts of water, try to limit the amount of refined sugars in your diet, and be cognizant (of) the amount of protein you consume,” Alawamy said.
Eating proper nutrition — such as a Mediterranean diet — staying hydrated and getting enough sleep can nurture the body during Ramadan and harness the benefits of fasting. (Shutterstock)
Many people find themselves overeating during the month of Ramadan while others complain of weight loss due to having a lower caloric intake. The ideal wellness goal while fasting is finding the right balance that provides the body with proper nutrition to complete the fast.
“My rule of thumb is 1 gram of protein for each kilogram of body weight to reduce the muscle losses during the fasting month of Ramadan,” Alawamy said.
HIGHLIGHT
The ideal wellness goal while fasting is finding the right balance that provides the body with proper nutrition to complete the fast. Many people have their sleep disrupted because of the tradition of spending late nights with family and friends. Maintaining proper sleep is also important in Ramadan.
The holy month of Ramadan is one of the best times to create a reset for the body with changes in habits including avoiding unhealthy food.
When choosing the right sahoor or iftar drink to consume, many people choose smoothies believing that it is a healthy option that will satisfy their hunger throughout the day.
Eating proper nutrition — such as a Mediterranean diet — staying hydrated and getting enough sleep can nurture the body during Ramadan and harness the benefits of fasting. (Shutterstock)
“What I usually tell my patients, the worst kind of calorie you can consume is one that is easily absorbed, does not satisfy your hunger, and is calorie dense,” Alawamy said.
Alawamy explained that most of these calorie-dense foods include juices, smoothies and ice cream.
“Obviously, you can make smoothies that are balanced and nutritionally excellent, but most people use frozen fruits, add sugar or ice cream, and do not include much fiber in that mix,” he said.
High fiber, balanced diets such as the Mediterranean diet have been shown to affect health positively. (Supplied)
When asked about what “gut-healthy” foods people should make a part of their Ramadan routine, Alawamy explained that he has some reservations about the term gut healthy since it is “always misconstrued or misrepresented.”
“It is always best to stick to the basics. High fiber, balanced diets such as the Mediterranean diet have been shown to affect health positively,” he explained.
Many medical experts suggest avoiding eating processed foods and relying on nutritional options such as fresh fruits and vegetables and snacks such as nuts.
Diet and exercise are two ways to stay healthy this Ramadan. (Shutterstock)
“Nuts contain a significant amount of polyunsaturated fats, which are healthy and help reduce the (craving) for other less nutritious foods,” the doctor said.
When the month of Ramadan begins many stop exercising completely, but Alawamy says it is a great time to do light workouts.
“It (Ramadan) is an excellent opportunity for most people to do low-intensity level exercises, for example, normal pace walking or brisk walking as well as stretching and yoga,” he said.
People can even engage in high-intensity exercise after breaking their fast, he said.
Maintaining proper sleep is also important in Ramadan. In many parts of the world, many have their sleep disrupted because of the tradition of spending late nights with family and friends.
Some people use Ramadan as a time to be drastically reduce food intake but losing weight too quickly can potentially be harmful to the body. Therefore, it is important to find a certain balance when it comes to the quality and quantity of the foods consumed, ways of staying active and regulating the body’s sleeping schedule.
When trying to find a healthy Ramadan routine that suits your individual needs and health requirements one can feel overwhelmed by the different voices and opinions online. It is always best to do thorough research and contact a trusted physician for advice.
They reviewed bilateral relations and discussed developments of common interests
Updated 28 March 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Deputy Minister for International Multilateral Affairs Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Rassi met Ambassador of France to the Kingdom Ludovic Pouille in Riyadh on Tuesday.
During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and discussed developments of common interests.
In another meeting, the Saudi minister held talks in Riyadh with Nahid Hussein, the resident representative of the UN Development Programme for the Kingdom.
During the meeting, they reviewed relations between the Kingdom and the UN and aspects of cooperation.
