His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, may Allah protect him, launched the Riyadh Sustainability Strategy on the sidelines of the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, which began its sessions today in the capital, Riyadh, with the presence of a number of global thought leaders and specialists in the field of sustainability. His Highness stated in his opening speech at the forum that the Riyadh Sustainability Strategy aims to “transform Riyadh into one of the most sustainable cities globally.”

On this occasion, His Excellency Fahd bin Abdulmohsen Al-Rasheed, CEO of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, who participated with a keynote speech at the forum, expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to His Royal Highness the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for launching the Riyadh Sustainability Strategy. He said: “In line with His Highness’s ambitious vision, the strategy aims to make Riyadh one of the most sustainable and competitive cities in the world by 2030.” His Excellency clarified, “The directives of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince always remind us that Riyadh’s ambitious economic growth will not come at the expense of the environment and sustainability.”

His Excellency emphasized the Commission’s efforts in efficiently managing natural resources, noting that the environmental sustainability initiatives launched to support the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative include investing 30 billion Riyals (8 billion USD) to increase treated water rates from 11% to 100% and use every drop of water for irrigation and greening the capital Riyadh. Additionally, approximately 56 billion Riyals (15 billion USD) are being invested in waste management projects to recycle waste into raw materials, reuse it, and convert it into energy at a rate of 94%.

In his speech, His Excellency explained that the strategy launched by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to implement environmental sustainability projects would save the city’s economy between 40 to 65 billion Riyals (11 to 17.3 billion USD) due to improved infrastructure efficiency, reduced energy and water consumption, and reduced costs from health improvements due to better public health.

Regarding the impact of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City’s projects on the lifestyle within the city, he pointed out that once the King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project in Riyadh is completed—considered the world’s largest integrated public transport project being developed all at once—the Commission aims to increase the use of public transportation by the city’s residents from 5% to 20%, through investments worth 112.5 billion Riyals (30 billion USD). Furthermore, the percentage of electric vehicles in the city is set to reach 30% by 2030. The King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project is expected to reduce daily trips by one million, which will result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by about 1.5 million tons annually.

His Excellency added that the Commission is investing 30 billion Riyals (8 billion USD) in projects and initiatives for environmental protection, referring to the achievements of the Riyadh Green Initiative, which is one of Riyadh’s four major projects, as a major contributor to the sustainable development goals index. The Riyadh Green and Riyadh Environmental Sustainability initiatives target the planting of a total of 15 million trees to increase the per capita share of green spaces from 1.7 to 28 square meters within the urban area by 2030. This will result in a reduction of the city’s temperature by 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius, with the reduction in the surface temperature of the land’s reflected heat between 8 to 15 degrees in areas of intensive planting. More than 3,300 parks of varying sizes and 43 major parks will also be created in Riyadh, aiming to improve the lifestyle of its residents. He continued, “These parks will contribute to humanizing the capital, strengthening the relationship between residents and their environment, improving the quality of life, and enhancing the residents’ sense of belonging to and identity with the city.”

Commenting on the Commission’s projects in line with the Kingdom’s sustainability goals, His Excellency added: “Air quality will be improved by reducing carbon emissions by 50%, and 30 billion Riyals (8 billion USD) will be invested to increase renewable energy production by 50%.”

He also pointed out that the sustainability projects carried out by the Commission in Riyadh will create 350,000 job opportunities and add 150 billion Riyals to the local economy.

It is worth noting that the Saudi Green Initiative Forum began its sessions today in Riyadh, with the presence of ministers, business leaders, innovators, and specialists in the field of environmental science and climate change mitigation and adaptation, both locally and internationally. The forum discusses the Kingdom’s direction and roadmap for implementing everything that contributes to achieving strategic sustainability goals in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The forum also addresses building an integrated green economy, strategies to expand the Kingdom’s climate commitments both locally and globally.