The UN’s resident coordinator in Saudi Arabia, Riyad Musa Al-Ahmad, said the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is ready to support the launch of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) activities in the Kingdom.
Al-Ahmad, who is also the resident representative of the UNDP office in Riyadh, was opening a workshop on CDM opportunities in the waste and water sectors at the UN house in Riyadh. The event was the second of three workshops organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ CDM authority.
The first workshop, which addressed challenges and opportunities in the cement and heavy industry sectors, took place in Jeddah on Saturday. The third event on emission reductions in the petrochemical sector took place on Tuesday.
"We stand ready to work with our partners to support the entry of the Arab region into the global CDM market," Ali-Ahmad said.
"The entry of Saudi Arabia into the global carbon market holds the benefit of the country playing its part in achieving global goals under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, and attracting new foreign investments to achieve new national goals for the expansion of clean energy."
UNDP has been present in Saudi Arabia since 1965, with current cooperation focusing on climate change and environment, national development planning and poverty reduction policy, as well as economic diversification, trade and corporate social responsibility and public administration reform.
"With the recent launch of a National CDM office in Saudi Arabia, UNDP stands ready to work with national partners in engaging the benefits of carbon finance for achieving Saudi Arabia’s clean energy goals,” said Al-Ahmad.
UNDP is currently working in 37 countries around the world on CDM programs, with the main focus on supporting investments in the energy and waste sectors.
"UNDP is prepared to work with Ministry of Petroleum, Ministry of Water and Electricity and the private sector to make CDM work in Saudi Arabia," Al-Ahmad said.
UNDP works in various countries to support local capacity development, conduct market assessments and align with global policies, and helps ministries and business entities in CDM project development and approval processes.
Only four countries, China, India, Brazil and South Korea, currently account for 70 percent of CDM projects and 80 percent of emission reduction credits to 2012.
The Arab region accounts for only 1.5 percent of global CDM projects and only two percent of emission reduction credits.
In 1992, world leaders launched the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, followed by the UN Kyoto Protocol in 2005, which introduced mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases for developed countries.
"Under the Kyoto Protocol, CDM is a system whereby in addition to reducing emissions within their own countries, developed countries can meet their obligations to the UN by investing in emission reduction projects in developing countries. In the process, global emissions are reduced while developing countries acquire clean energy technology and investments," said Al-Ahmad.
