Saudi Arabia’s Sabic, a global leader in diversified chemicals, hosted the regional meeting of the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum for the Middle East and South Africa at the Sabic Academy in Riyadh on October 25 and 26.

The Forum was attended by around 150 government officials, representatives from Middle East countries and South Africa, and experts in the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development.

Inaugurating the Forum, Abdullah Al-Sarhan, secretary general, Clean Development Mechanism National Committee, stressed the importance of concerted efforts to achieve the objectives set at the gathering.

Uwaidh Al-Harthy, Sabic executive vice president, Innovation and Business Development, highlighted the company’s role in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, noting that challenges associated with climate change can also offer opportunities. "Doing business in a sustainable way is a challenge, as it is necessary to preserve the planet we live in. But it is also an opportunity because sustainability has value for both the company and the world," he said.

Al-Harthy said that Sabic was established on the principles of sustainability, as it was using the gas that was released in the air as raw material for manufacturing petrochemicals. Today, sustainability is a foundational element of Sabic’s 2025 strategy and a core value, he added.

He pointed out that Sabic aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2025 compared to 2010. It has reduced the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by 8.3 per cent since 2010, energy consumption by six per cent and water use by 10.4 per cent for the same period.

The regional meeting was held in the run-up to the Seventh Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum Ministers’ Meeting scheduled to be held in the UAE from December 3 to 7. It dealt with the latest developments in global climate change talks, carbon sequestration projects in the region over the past years, and the economic challenges facing such projects in the region.

Saudi Arabia had hosted the Sixth Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum Ministers’ Meeting in 2015, which was attended by some 250 ministers, officials and experts representing member states, as well as representatives from a number of international organizations and regional oil companies. – TradeArabia News Service