RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s climate envoy, Adel Al-Jubeir, on Saturday said the Kingdom is committed to cooperate with the international community in enhancing efforts to protect oceans and marine resources.
Al-Jubeir, who is also minister of state for foreign affairs and a member of the Council of Ministers, reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment in a speech at Ocean Action: Immersed in Change, a high-level event in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The San Jose gathering of country representatives, scientists and international experts, is to prepare for the 3rd UN Ocean Conference, to be held in France in 2025. Participants debated issues including the capacity of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide, the need for sustainable fishing and tackling marine pollution.
Saudi Arabia's Climate Envoy Adel Al-Jubeir stands with other country representatives, scientists and international experts for a family photo at the close of the two-day High Level Event on Ocean Action: Immersed in Change in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Saturday. (X: @KSAmofaEN)
Al-Jubeir cited Saudi Arabia’s participation in international negotiations that resulted in a legally binding formula for an agreement on the sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas outside national areas.
The Kingdom also took an active part in negotiations aimed at coming up with a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution that includes the marine environment, SPA reported.
Al-Jubeir also noted that the Saudi Green Initiative, part of Saudi Vision 2030, has a commitment to protecting 30 percent of the Kingdom’s terrestrial and marine areas by 2030.
During Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20 in 2020, the Kingdom led international efforts by launching the global platform to accelerate research and development of coral reefs to complement international efforts to protect the marine environment, he said.
He further cited the Kingdom’s commitment to the protection of marine and coastal ecosystems in the Red Sea and its launch of the General Foundation for the Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles in the Red Sea.
Costa Rica's President Rodrigo Chaves receives Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs and climate envoy Adel Al-Jubeir on the sidelines of the High Level Event on Ocean Action: Immersed in Change. (X: @KSAmofaEN)
“The Kingdom contributes effectively to regional efforts to protect and preserve the marine environment in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. It is also a member of the Regional Authority for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment,” Al-Jubeir said.
Earlier on Friday, Li Junhua, the UN undersecretary-general for social affairs, said at the start of the talks that protecting the ocean was “not an option but an imperative.”
Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves, host of the two-day meeting, said that if the world does not act, “we as a generation would be taking away the future of humanity.”
