{"id":81743,"date":"2024-01-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/01\/15\/ksa-plans-to-recycle-up-to-95-of-its-waste-as-it-cracks-down-on-its-global-rankings\/"},"modified":"2024-01-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T00:00:00","slug":"ksa-plans-to-recycle-up-to-95-of-its-waste-as-it-cracks-down-on-its-global-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/01\/15\/ksa-plans-to-recycle-up-to-95-of-its-waste-as-it-cracks-down-on-its-global-rankings\/","title":{"rendered":"KSA plans to recycle up to 95% of its waste as it cracks down on its global rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WASTE MANAGEMENT-<\/p>\n

KSA is taking on its massive food waste issue: <\/strong>Saudi Arabia\u2019s Environment, Water and Agriculture Ministry (MEWA) intends to recycle up to 95% of its waste compared to its current rate of 3-4% \u2014 one of the lowest in the world, <\/a>SPA<\/a> reports, citing the ministry\u2019s annual report for 2023. The new targets will see the ministry recycling c. 100 mn tons of waste annually and is forecast to add SAR 120 bn to the GDP, according to the ministry. The operational timeline and allocated budget were not disclosed.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER-<\/strong> KSA produces the world\u2019s largest amount of food waste<\/a> on a per capita basis with over a third of food produced or imported by the kingdom going to waste, according to a 2022 study (pdf)<\/a> published by King Saud University.<\/p>\n

ALSO- <\/strong>Bee'ah Group has received the first Mercedes-Benz <\/strong>eEconic<\/strong> collection truck in the <\/strong>region from <\/strong>Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA<\/a><\/strong>, according to a statement<\/a> released last week. The eEconic<\/a>, a zero-emission vehicle designed for urban waste management, is the newest addition to Bee'ah's 2k waste vehicles fleet and will help expand its operations in the UAE, KSA, and Egypt. Mercedes also debuted its first battery-electric truck<\/a> in KSA in October.<\/p>\n

Bee'ah has made strides in green mobility: <\/strong>The Sharjah Research, Technology, and Innovation Park (SRTIP), Bee'ah Group, and Peec Mobility partnered last month to boost the electrification of major vehicle fleets<\/a> in Sharjah, starting with Peec's ReTruck initiative for Bee'ah's fleet. Bee'ah also signed an agreement<\/a> with US- and UK-based Chinook Sciences and Japanese gas conglomerate Air Water during COP28 to develop a waste-to-hydrogen plant the output from which will be used for hydrogen-powered fuel cells for a fleet of large trucks and buses.<\/p>\n

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RENEWABLES-<\/p>\n

KNPC floats tender for renewables and CCUS consultancy bids:<\/strong> The Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has invited international engineering consulting firms to bid on conduct of feasibility studies aimed at quantifying the potential revenues of integrating renewable energy and carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) ventures to its and the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries company portfolios, Zawya<\/a> reports. The Supreme Procurement Committee at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation reportedly sent out the requests for proposals to UK-based Amick Foster Wheeler Group, US- headquartered Kellogg Brown & Root Australia\u2019s Worley Engineering, and Technip Energy of France. The firms will have until Thursday, 1 February to submit proposals for the advisory assessments on a package of projects which will reportedly include bio energy generation, green hydrogen production, wind, solar, and CCUS projects, aiming to spotlight the best investment opportunities for the Big Oil players in the green energy sector.<\/p>\n

Kuwait is planning to ramp up renewables developments:<\/strong> Earlier this month, the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) invited global and local developers to bid on the 1.1 GW<\/a> third phase of the Al Dibdibah Power and Al Shagaya Renewable Energy solar project. The winning bid will be tasked with financing, design, procurement, engineering, construction, testing, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the project. The country\u2019s Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy Ministry will ink a 30-year PPA to be the sole offtaker for the energy produced.The deadline for bid submissions is 22 February.<\/p>\n

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GREEN MANUFACTURING-<\/p>\n

Saudi real estate developer <\/strong>Roshn<\/strong> and green tech startup Partanna Arabia signed an <\/strong>agreement to set up a carbon-negative concrete plant in the kingdom<\/strong>, according to a statement<\/a> released on Thursday. Partanna uses repurposed seawater brine<\/a> generated from desalination projects to create non-toxic<\/a> building materials that can absorb CO2 instead of using traditional cement materials, which account for 8%<\/a> of the world\u2019s total carbon emissions. <\/p>\n

More details: <\/strong>The new plant \u2014 which is expected to generate 1.3 mn carbon credits once fully operational \u2014 will potentially produce carbon-neutral blocks, tile, precast and pour-in-place solutions to realize Roshn\u2019s target of building over 400k sustainable homes, 1k kindergartens, and 700 mosques in KSA by 2030. The company will also potentially sell CO2 offsets from the facility to Saudi firms looking to decarbonize their businesses. Roshn also signed<\/a> on Tuesday an agreement with KSA\u2019s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company (EVIQ) to set up EV charging stations across its properties in the kingdom. <\/p>\n

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GREEN FINANCE-<\/p>\n

Oman\u2019s sustainable finance framework that has earned a \u201cVery Good\u201d rating from <\/strong>Moody's Investors Services<\/strong>, Times of Oman<\/a> reported last week. This integrated framework, evaluated within the global Sustainability Quality Score (SQS2), is the first of its kind to be implemented by a GCC state.<\/p>\n

The details: <\/strong>The framework aims to reduce Oman\u2019s reliance on fossil fuels and attract ESG investors, Reuters<\/a> reports. Oman will introduce green, social, and sustainability bonds alongside loans and sukuk as part of the initiative. The proceeds will be directed towards funding and refinancing renewable energy projects. The initiative also aligns with Oman's Vision 2040 economic development plan, which aims to significantly reduce the share of oil in the country's GDP. By 2030, the goal is to cut oil's share to 16%, and down to 8.4% by 2040, down from 39% in 2017.<\/p>\n

ALSO- The sultanate drafts new waste sector privatization law: <\/strong>Under the financing framework, Oman will unveil a new law this year for the privatization of its solid waste sector, Oman Observer<\/a> reported on Thursday. The new law \u2014 which will regulate all stages of waste management \u2014 mandates that only licensed companies can engage in waste management activities, and will establish a national waste management hierarchy in efforts to minimize environmental impact.<\/p>\n

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-<\/strong><\/p>\n