Cop 27: Saudi PIF wealth fund targets net zero by 2050

Market: Crude oil, Oil products
07/11/22

Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) has set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the country's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said today.

The fund would seek to achieve this "through the circular carbon economy approach," Crown Prince Mohammed said in an address to the Riyadh-founded Middle East Green Initiative Summit. This is being held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to coincide with the UN Cop 27 climate meeting.

The PIF is financing Crown Prince Mohammed's Vision 2030 national economic diversification programme, and last week it said it will partner with Taiwan's technology firm Foxconn to develop Ceer, Saudi Arabia's first domestically-produced electric vehicle.

The PIF decarbonisation goal aligns with Saudi state-controlled Aramco's objective to reach net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly-owned and operated assets by 2050. Riyadh aims to fully decarbonise by 2060.

The largest producer of the Opec+ coalition, Saudi Arabia has long advocated an approach to the energy transition that simultaneously grows renewable sources and maintains sufficient fossil fuel output to avoid energy shortages. Saudi oil minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and several of his counterparts in Opec+ have urged international investment in crude capacity increases — with Riyadh targeting a rise from around 12mn b/d today to 13mn b/d by 2027, excluding progress at the offshore Neutral Zone it shares with Kuwait.

"The current transition is flawed," Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser said on 26 October, stressing concerns over energy security, affordability and availability.

Saudi Arabia's 'green' initiatives — including ambitions to bring its hydrogen production to 2.9mn t/yr by 2030 and to 4mn t/yr by 2035 — come after US President Joe Biden last year included Riyadh among countries falling short in efforts to battle climate change.

By Ruxandra Iordache

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