On the occasion of the global celebrations of Earth Day, which falls on April 22, the Secretary-General of the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, Jenan Behzad, affirmed that “at this time, as the world races to reduce gas emissions and prepares for the United Nations Climate Conference (COP26), which was postponed to November of this year after the events of the Corona pandemic that shook the world last year, the world will accelerate towards finding innovative solutions to finance climate change adaptation capabilities and confront joint international projects and positive changes regarding climate action and environmental policies.”.
She noted that “these innovative solutions must be pursued in the electricity, water, transport, and water sectors, as there are now scalable and affordable solutions available to enable countries to move towards cleaner and more resilient economies, as the pace of change accelerates with more people turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that would reduce emissions,” adding, “To ensure a more realistic share of renewable energy in electricity production in the future, firm policies must be put in place with the aim of promoting, marketing, and taking advantage of the continuous education of citizens.
She stressed that we urgently need to raise awareness and empower young people in green work, which will be the core of future work in the fields of environment, electrical engineering, and alternative energies. One of the biggest challenges and obstacles facing the Arabian Gulf region is in the technological field, developing knowledge exchange, and improving scientific research.
Behzad drew attention to the initiative of the Shagaya Renewable Energy Complex project and the initiative of His Highness the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad to secure 15% of local electricity demand using clean energy by 2030, in fulfillment of the seventh Sustainable Development Goal to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, reliable and sustainable modern energy services. She also noted the announcement by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, “which impressed the Gulf community with their integration to solve environmental problems that have been burdensome for many years, such as desertification, lack of vegetation cover, gas emissions, pollution and the preservation of marine life.”.
She explained that “these initiatives represent a different perspective on climate change and the use of renewable energies. They will work to reduce carbon emissions by more than 4% through renewable energy projects and the application and raising of clean energy and fuel economy standards. This joint initiative of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, through which the Gulf countries seek to increase the share of renewable energy for electricity production in the future, will enable the Gulf Cooperation Council to reduce carbon emissions by more than 10% of global contributions.”.
