The 9th Islamic World Environment Ministers Conference was held in Jeddah under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
The conference, organized by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), was held from October 18th to 19th.
In his opening remarks, Saudi Arabia’s Environment Minister Abdulrahman Al-Fadly welcomed environment ministers from 52 countries and representatives from 30 regional and international organizations working on environmental issues.
He emphasized that cooperation and collaboration among Islamic countries plays an important role in environmental protection, sustainability, and addressing global environmental challenges.
He expressed solidarity between Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian people, called on the international community to behave responsibly, and stressed the need to comply with the provisions of international law and humanitarian law.
Additionally, he expressed Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with Morocco and Libya, which are facing the effects of recent natural disasters.
“Environmental conservation is one of the pillars of Saudi Vision 2030, with Saudi Arabia adopting a national environmental strategy, establishing a foundation and five environmental centers, and implementing initiatives such as the Saudi Green Initiative and the regional Middle East Green Initiative. We have started working on it.”
He said the Green Initiative aims to develop vegetation cover, increase conservation rates to 30 percent and adopt a carbon circular economy approach to achieve zero neutrality in 2060.
The Middle East Green Initiative aims to strengthen regional cooperation to combat desertification and protect vegetation and its biodiversity. It also aims to achieve food security, adapt to climate change and improve quality of life.
Mr. Fadly announced that Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with many countries and international organizations, has launched a platform to reduce land degradation and enhance conservation of terrestrial habitats.
The platform aims to accelerate research and development to protect coral reefs and reduce land degradation and loss of wild habitat, and was launched by G20 leaders under the Saudi Presidency in 2020. It was raised.
Last month, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the creation of the World Water Organization, which will be headquartered in Riyadh.
Next year, Saudi Arabia will host the United Nations Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP16) and World Environment Day 2024.
During the third session, Mr. Fadly congratulated the winners of the Kingdom Prize for Environmental Management in the Islamic World.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Hussein Taha emphasized the importance of environmental security and its comprehensive impact.
He said this requires urgent and concerted action by all countries, especially as the Islamic world is among the regions most affected by global climate change.
Taha insisted that the concerns of Islamic countries should be heard in various international and global forums on environmental issues.
He praised the efforts of the 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World, suggesting that its results will be of great importance in preparing the Islamic world for the upcoming COP28 conference to be held in the United Arab Emirates. did.
Next, ICESCO Director-General Salim Al Malik spoke about the environmental challenges facing the Islamic world, including global warming, rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions, rising global temperatures, loss of biodiversity, and plastic pollution. mentioned.
He further noted that the scale of these challenges imposes significant responsibilities on the Islamic world.
Mr. Malik referred to the food waste problem and indicated that the amount reaches 1.3 billion tons annually, enough to feed 3 billion people.
Malik said the climate crisis is the result of mismanagement and that decision-makers must find fundamental solutions, increase the capital of the green economy, support its innovation and make the most of the digital and information revolution. He said that it is necessary to work diligently.
