Caption: Oil and gas production in Saudi Arabia is currently a mainstay for the economy. Image courtesy of WikiMedia Commons.
By Dnyaneshwari Haware ’23
Staff Writer
The Middle Eastern kingdom of Saudi Arabia owns around 16 percent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves and is the second-largest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. On Jan. 5, Saudi Arabia announced that it would unilaterally cut 1 million barrels of crude oil production a day starting in February. The decision was made to benefit Saudi Arabia’s economy and that of its partnering countries by increasing oil prices as a response to the weakened global economies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A couple weeks later, on Jan. 18, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, began publicly discussing the construction of an environmentally sustainable zero-emissions city in Saudi Arabia called “The Line.” The project is envisioned to create an international technological hub with futuristic amenities that serves as a tourist destination. However, few details regarding the project’s technicalities have been revealed.
With an investment of approximately $200 billion, the project is considered the blueprint for an ideal city run on 100 percent clean energy. Construction work is scheduled to begin early next year, and there is already an airport established at the site.
Saudi Arabia largely depends on its own fossil fuels for energy. These fossil fuels make up 50 percent of the kingdom’s gross domestic product and 70 percent of its export earnings. The collapse of this sector, which is estimated to happen in about 70 years as current reserves start depleting, would directly affect the kingdom’s economy and wealth along with its global market power. This domestic shift to clean energy acts as a redefining move to prolong their supremacy as oil exporters.
The wealthy nation can afford to build communities safe from environmental changes while retaining their income from fossil fuel-dependent countries, which consist of newly industrialized developing countries and less economically developed countries.
As climate conferences increase and countries strive to reach their own climate change goals for the next 30 to 50 years, oil-exporting countries like Saudi Arabia are working toward establishing alternatives. Saudi Arabia is hoping this project will be a secondary and more stable source of income.
The nation once highly criticized at climate change conferences is now taking significant steps to tackle climate change.