MEOG: Kuwait pledges to reach net zero

Kuwait committed at this week’s COP27 summit in Egypt to reaching ‘net-zero’ emissions from oil and gas by 2050, and a decade later for the rest of its economy. The announcement comes a week after regional hegemon Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its own similar target.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Salem al-Sabah told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the plan to achieve carbon-neutrality was “a solid serious pledge that we will commit to”.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah confirmed the move and Kuwait’s commitment to regional and international environmental resolutions and initiatives while addressing the Middle East Green Initiative summit, which was held on the sidelines of COP27.

Just over a year ago, at last year’s ADIPEC, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mohammed Al Fares made preliminary comments about the country’s plans to embark on the energy transition.

Until that point, Kuwait had been the most hesitant of the Gulf oil-producing nations on engagement with renewables and lower-carbon energy sources. Al Fares said: “We looked at the transition issue in a way that we need to make sure that we have to have a very clear plan, deliverable, wise and, at the same time, the economical factor is looked into.”