UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY
Proposal for Review
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Project Title: Enabling Activities to support Saudi Arabia in responding to its Commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
GEF Focal Area: Climate Change
Country Eligibility: Ratified UNFCCC: 28 December 1994
GEF Financing: US $ 350,000
GEF Implementing Agency: UNDP
Executing Agency: Government of Saudi Arabia
Local Counterpart Agency: Meteorology & Environmental Protection Administration (MEPA)
GEF Operational Focal Point: Dr Nizar Ibrahim Tawfiq, President, MEPA
Estimated Starting Date: April 2002
Project Duration: 2 Years
Preparation Costs: US $ 15,000 (in kind from UNDP)
1. Background and project context[*]
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a vast country covering almost 80% of the Arabian Peninsula with a total area of 2.15 million km2. It is bordered by seven countries (Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, UAE, and Qatar) and two seas; Red Sea on the west and the Arabian Gulf on the east. The country has an arid climate with an average annual rainfall of 70.5 mm. In 1999, the population of the country was estimated to be 21.4 million (of which around 5.4 M are non-Saudis) with an annual growth rate of 2.8%. Almost 63% of the population is concentrated in the urban areas.
Over the last three decades, the Kingdom has witnessed a rapid expansion in all sectors of the economy. The country has managed to build a vast infrastructure providing social services to all citizens, evident from the high shares of budget expenditure on sectors such as education, health and transport. In 1999, the human resources development expenditure amounted to 53.8% of the total budget. By 1999, the GDP per capita reached US $7,000 and the Kingdom ranked 75th on the UNDP Human Development Index. The economy is still dominated by the oil sector representing 31% of the GDP and making up almost two-third of the government budget revenues. However, as the seventh 5-year development plan (2000-2004) indicated, the Saudi economy is undergoing a major transition towards reducing dependence on the oil sector through the diversification of sources of economic income to finance development. In this regard, a number of economic reforms have been adopted to realize this transition. Among these are measures to attract foreign direct investment, initiation of privatization process and opening up the country for tourism. In line with these changes, new institutional frameworks have been established. At the highest level, the Supreme Economic Council headed by the Crown Prince and Deputy Premier has been established to guide the economy. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Higher Authority for Tourism, and the Higher Commission for Privatization have also been created.
Table 1. GDP Structure of the Saudi Economy
Economic Sector/Sub-sector / Value (billion SR) / Ratio to GDP (%)Non Oil Sector
· Agriculture· Mining (non-oil)
· Industry
· Others
Service Sector
· Commerce, Transportation & Communications.· Government Services
Oil & Gas Sector
Others / 130.534.7
2.2
45.3
48.3
194.8
110.3
84.5
147.8
2.5 / 27.4
7.2
0.5
9.5
10.2
41
23.2
17.8
31
0.6
GDP
/ 475.6 / 100Almost two-thirds of the country is arid plain and mountains and most of the remainder is sand desert. Only 2% of the country’s land area is considered arable, with the chief agricultural crops including dates, wheat, barley and fruits. Therefore, agriculture sector makes up only 7.3% of the GDP. Because of limited renewable water resources, the Kingdom has recently adopted agricultural policies to ensure that food production (plant and animal) does not lead to the overexploitation of limited renewable water resources, overgrazing, soil erosion and ultimately to desertification. The national development plan calls for the development and implementation of a national strategy and action programme to combat desertification. Saudi Arabia ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 1995 and has submitted its initial national report to the Convention Secretariat in 2000[*].
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the world’s largest proven oil reserve. Its oil production is the highest among OPEC countries and therefore has a strong presence in the international oil market. The Government strategy is to expand the processing of crude oil to ensure high return for its oil prior to exportation to the international market. Therefore, expansion in the magnitude and variety of gas and petrochemical industries is evident with the establishment and continuous development and expansion of the two industrial complexes in the cities of Al Jubail and Yanbua. Domestic energy consumption is estimated in 1999 to be at 1.6 million barrel equivalent.
Gas and oil are the main sources for electricity generation in the Kingdom. There is also significant amount of electricity (about 20%) co-generated from dual desalination plants. A number of pilot research and development projects to use solar energy in remote areas are being implemented by King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). However, their application is not widespread. Average electricity consumption amounted to 36 MW hours per capita in 1998. Total energy consumption amounted to total 97050 million kWh in 1998. The electricity sector is recently restructured with the aim of reaching economic efficiency and encouraging private sector participation. The measures also include gradual steps to adjust electricity price structure to reflect actual costs and to promote at the same time energy conservation and efficiencies in all economic sectors.
Due to the rapid economic expansion and urbanization the country is faced with many environmental challenges. On top of these challenges is the limited renewable freshwater surface and groundwater resources critical to gear development. The country is relying on costly desalinated water technologies for domestic use. Other issues include water and air pollution, coastal development, biodiversity and desertification. However, the Government has taken the environmental conservation agenda along side national development. The seventh national development plan reiterated such policy and called for collective efforts by concerned governmental, non-governmental institutions and the general public to conserve the country’s valuable environmental and wildlife resources.
Despite that the economy depends largely on oil, the Kingdom has spared no efforts to be concerned of and to support addressing global environmental issues such climate change. However, the government maintained that such issues should not harm or jeopardize the economies of the developing countries, especially those who heavily depend on oil. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994 and is a very active member in all negotiations in the Conference of Parties (CoP) and its subsidiary bodies. The Government has set up a high level ministerial committee to deal with environmental issues including the climate change issues.
The Environmental Policy and Legal Framework: Article 32 of the Royal Decree on the “Basic System of Governance” has declared that the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is committed “to protect and develop the environment and prevent pollution”. This has created a mandate to translate this important message into concrete actions on the policy, strategy, program and project level.
In recognition of the importance of the environment at the national and international level, the environmental policy framework of the Kingdom was restructured by the establishment of the Ministerial Committee on Environment (MCE) under the chairmanship of HRH the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense and Aviation, and the Inspector General. The MCE is the highest environmental authority in the Kingdom and has been designed to address both policy and implementation issues. The MCE is represented by the Ministers of Agriculture and Water, Industry and Electricity, Finance and National Economy, Foreign Affairs, Health, Interior, Municipal and Rural Affairs, and Petroleum and Mineral Resources as well as the president of King Abdulaziz City For Science and Technology (KACST) and the president of MEPA who has been designated as the Secretary General of MCE. The MCE is assisted by a preparatory committee chaired by HH Assistant to HRH the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense and Aviation, and the Inspector General.
The Meteorology and Environmental Protection Administration (MEPA) is the central agency for environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is part of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. MEPA’s functions and responsibilities include proposing environmental laws and regulations, assessment and evaluation of pollution levels and planning and management of environmental emergencies such as oil spill etc.
2. Project objectives
The long-term development objective of the project is to promote the understanding of linkages and the better integration between environment and development within the national and global context in order to achieve the long-term sustainable human development. While the primary short-term objective of the project is to assist the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to respond to its obligation under article 12 of the UNFCCC through the preparation of the first National Communication. In the long-term, the project will also contribute to strengthening the country’s capacity in dealing with climate change issues as it relates to the national development objectives in key economic sectors such as energy, industry and agriculture.
3. Project description
The proposed project is focused on activities that will ensure systematic and accelerated preparation of the first National Communication and report to the UNFCCC required under its article no. 12. The project will provide support for the systematic preparation of the National Communication through six major outputs; 1) effective Co-ordination and Networking among government institutions; 2) raising awareness and broadening participation; 3) preparations of technical reports; 4) organizing sectoral and cross-sectoral workshops and seminars; 5) capacity building and experience exchange with international institutions; and 6) final production of the National Communication. Annex I provide summary of activities that will be covered in the preparation of the national communication.
Output 1. Climate Change Co-ordination Unit established, and co-ordination and networking among relevant institutions enhanced
Because of its central role, strengthening the capacity of the national environment agency, MEPA, for the effective coordination between relevant national institutions to work towards common goal of addressing global climate change issues is crucial to achieving the project objective. This will be realized through the implementation of the activities described below.
Activity 1.1 Establishing a small climate change coordination unit at MEPA consisting of project coordinator, part time technical staff and secretarial support. The unit will serve as the technical and administrative secretariat for the national climate change team providing necessary background material, preparing meetings, dissemination of information, and producing and distributing reports. The office space and furniture will be provided by the Government, but necessary equipment and Internet communication facilities will be purchased through the project. The project will also support the electronic connectivity among members of the climate change committee by the provision of e-mail subscriptions and required training, as appropriate.
Activity 1.2. Develop a dedicated website for the climate change project to post information related to the initiative and to achieve better interaction with similar GEF projects. The website design will incorporate an Intranet site that is only accessible by authorized members to facilitate document transfer between the members in order to speed up document reviews and finalization.
Output 2. The participation of relevant national institutions is broadened
This output is necessary to ensure defining coherent national policies on climate change issues by active participation of key national institutions. The project will promote interactions with as many relevant national institutions as possible to promote policy dialogue and to give adequate scrutiny to each specialized reports related to options, impact, mitigation and adaptation. Activities planned to achieve the output are described below.
Activity 2.1 Organize a project initiation workshop with participants from all the relevant sectors to present the objectives of the project, to clarify links to other relevant ongoing national and international activities, and to clarify the institutional and other practical arrangements to facilitate a successful implementation of the project
Activity 2.2 Conduct a national seminar on climate change issues to be attended by relevant government institutions, universities, interested groups, media, etc.
Activity 2.3 Conduct a general training workshop on climate change issues for the participating institutions and experts to build awareness and basic technical capacity. The project will benefit from existing training material produced by various international programmes such as the CC:TRAIN, IPCC, etc.
Output 3. Technical studies performed on various issues and reports prepared according to established guidelines
The aim of this output is to collect baseline data and collate relevant information to assist with the examination and assessment of various scenarios and policy options in accordance with the standard guidance given by the UNFCCC CoP decision 10/CP.2. These reports will constitute the backbone of the National Communication. For each study, a group of specialists lead by a Team Leader will collect the necessary information, conduct the analysis and propose actions. Reports will be presented in national workshops in order to enrich discussions. Where necessary, the Government may request the technical inputs and comments from/through subject experts of the GEF/UNDP Programme Support Unit (PSU). The PSU will also make available to the national team technical guidelines, best practices and training material to facilitate the implementation of such activities. The following is a brief description of activities related to this output.
Activity 3.1 GHG Inventory. Compile and finalize a national inventory of greenhouse gases for both the energy and non-energy sectors using the latest IPCC guidelines and following the guidelines adopted by the CoP. The atmospheric gases to be addressed in the study will include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Other greenhouse gases included in the IPCC methodology will be addressed as seen appropriate.
Activity 3.2 GHG Inventory Workshop. Review and finalize the GHG inventory in a national workshop and decide which elements are to be included in the National Communication. Activities 3.1 & 3.2 will complement and conclude the inventorization process that has been initiated and financed by the Government through MEPA.
Activity 3.3. GHG Abatement Options. Organize and undertake an analysis of potential options to abate the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance removals by sinks.