Oil-rich Saudi Arabia will join the Paris Agreement within the week, Khalid Al-Falih, minister of energy, industry, and mineral resources, announced in a forward on the kingdom’s COP22 webpage. “It is encouraging to note that the Paris Agreement has achieved the threshold for entry into force, and Saudi Arabia is determined to see it implemented. In fact, we are updating our environmental plan to ensure timely implementation and we have managed to complete our ratification process of the Agreement before COP 22 in Marrakech,” the minister wrote.
Saudi Arabia is responsible for .8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The nation is heavily reliant on the production of oil and gas, with roughly 50 percent of its gross domestic product owing to the sector. “Saudi Arabia is instrumental in delivering the vital energy that enables global economic growth and prosperity, and we have a track-record of doing so in the most reliable and sustainable way, in part through technology-enabled solutions. We are dedicated to smarter solutions and better systems, dedicated to sustainable development and progress,” Al-Falih wrote.
The Paris Agreement will enter into force Friday and currently has 89 members.