RIYADH: The National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification hosted a workshop titled “Carbon Credit for Nature-Based Solutions” to share expertise and encourage collaboration in advancing the Kingdom’s carbon market.

The initiative aims to leverage natural solutions as a vital tool to address climate change, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

The workshop discussed the role of carbon markets in the Kingdom in supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy, the importance of natural solutions in achieving the goals of the Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives, and the multiple benefits of carbons markets.

Khaled Al-Abdulkader, CEO of NCVC, said that the nature-based carbon credit program represents an important funding tributary to the national afforestation program per the outputs of the Saudi Green Initiative which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 278 million tons per year

He added that the center supports natural solutions through strategic partnerships that enhance knowledge in the fields of carbon storage and monitoring.

Such agreements, he noted, include the International Carbon Registry, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the UN Development Program.

Al-Abdulkader also highlighted the center’s efforts to plant around 135 million trees and rehabilitate 289,000 hectares of degraded land.