Saudi Arabia remains committed to the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, the energy minister for the world’s top oil exporter said on Saturday.
Minister Khalid Al-Falih’s statement came as almost 200 countries started talks in Germany to bolster a global climate accord that the United States plans to quit.
“For our part, the kingdom will remain committed to maintaining our national contributions on taking climate actions that would also enable sustainable development in line with Saudi Vision 2030,” Falih said.
The kingdom aims to wean itself off oil as part of its ambitious Vision 2030 economic reform agenda.
“Thus, our nationally determined contribution reflects our commitment to develop and commercially deploy low-emission technologies,” Falih added, saying Riyadh plans to rely more on carbon capture technology, solar energy and cleaner fuels.
The Paris climate agreement sets a goal of limiting warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, ideally 1.5 C.
Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are goals set for each individual country in order to achieve the worldwide climate goal. The United Nations says the world is on track for a temperature rise of about three degrees by 2100.