It’s hard to believe that it took just six months for the COVID-19 pandemic to cause significant loss of life, devastate industries and cause the crash of a relatively stable and prosperous global economy. Critical vulnerabilities have been deeply exposed,and, as the world starts to return to a level of normalcy, countries in the GCC find themselves at an inflection point. How can they use the lessons learned from this to determine the path going forward?
Earth Overshoot Day marks the day when humanity has used all the ecological resources the planet can replenish on the whole year, including the ability to absorb carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning. This year, that day is the 22nd August. We’ve done better than 2019, almost a month later than 2019. However, each country’s performance differs. Saudi Arabia’s Earth Overshoot Day is April 5th.
We can and will change this, and make the Kingdom more sustainable. To enable a comprehensive reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions, Saudi Arabia has implemented a number of policies. Its green energy investments represent a key pillar of the Vision 2030 strategy by the Saudi government, the National Renewable Energy Plan. This is designed to stimulate renewable energy development to deliver long term economic diversification and stability by reducing domestic fossil fuel consumption.
In the post-pandemic world, Saudi Arabia has an opportunity to accelerate its progress on sustainability. By investing in green technologies and developing new, forward-looking industries, the country can create hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars in economic value. A green recovery can be both resilient and long-term, creating benefits for the nation’s economy and people.
To ensure a recovery that will benefit everyone, the business sector will play a key role. Key questions for organizations include: How can we reinvent ourselves to remain relevant in a world which is increasingly shaped by climate change and resource constraints? How can we grow sustainably? What is the right business model for long-term success?
Business As Usual – Three recovery pillars to help right now and right here
Right now, we know that the world can pivot quickly to respond to a crisis. The same urgency that saw us through the pandemic can be harnessed and applied to other challenges such as climate change. Here are some possibilities:
1. Business Continuity & Resilience: Companies must assess and address their gaps to protect themselves against future disruption. This goes far beyond securing operations and protecting sites; it’s about a substantial shift in strategy that anticipates potential vulnerability and unpredictability. If we ignore these black swan events, we’re putting our own business modelsat risk.
2. Deep Decarbonization: The pandemic “pause” has allowed companies to radically embrace and pursue solutions to overcome global crises, with a focus on climate and resources.
3. Innovative & Digitized Growth: Innovation, digitization, and purpose have proven more essential than ever in uncertain times. Companies with a commitment to their employees, customers, and communities who have sought creative solutions to the crisis, and who have turned the challenge into an opportunity to do things differently, areoutperforming their peers.
Closing the gaps
Today’s Saudi Arabia is taking the climate change seriously, and is putting a strategy in place to make the country a leader in green tech. A circular carbon economy (CCE) is a key element of Saudi Arabia’s long-term energy thinking, embedded in policies and proposals from the think tanks of the G20 leaders’ organization, as well as in projects and initiatives by Saudi Aramco and other mega-projects of the Vision 2030 reform strategy, such as Neom.
We have to be prepared for the next big event. The resource-consumption shift observed in 2020 was sudden and unexpected. Once economies come back online, resources will be stretched even further. The crisis presents us with the opportunity to focus on building the future we want: one where humanity thrives within the means of our only planet and invest in a long-term green recovery that will benefit everyone.