جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي

[M126-02] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:00:24 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Thank you very much for the introduction. Well, unfortunately my vocals are not equipped to for conferences like this. I'm more inclined to small rooms and small talks, but I always keep telling people low vocals are helpful sometimes you never know when you may need to swallow your words, be it as it may. I first will I would like to welcome our friends and our guests. And I can assure you effective late last night, they are no longer guests, they are friends and part of our fabric as we have always been as Saudis, and if you don't mind just give a word or two about what we are. What we are is simply Bedouin. We have been Bedouin, we continue to Bedouin, albeit modern Bedouin and we are transitioning yet we're maintaining our Bedouinness. Effectively, we are still host our guests with an open arms and open hearts. And now, it is even an open country. Effectively, we speak what we believe, and we don't change our beliefs to ensure that we look good, but honestly with what we are doing now, not only we can talk with a great deal of pride, but actually with a great deal of honesty that whatever we say shall happen, driven by a young leadership that Mr. Khalid El-Falih was saying, he is determined to ensure that we as you have rightly have said that we have been a pivot to the energy industry.

[M126-03] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:02:23 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

I assure you we will continue to be the pivot to that industry not only that, but we will be challenging everybody to ensure that they can do what we are doing, and compete with us if they can. We assure you none will compete with us, be it in the transitional phase, because again we are embarking on a journey that makes us not only competitive, but actually our drive has much better connotation to it which is being a model for all energy producers, for all those who are aspiring to have to build a Modern Energy System that is commensurate with the obligations that we have all concurred back in Paris in 2015 to attend to, which is the Paris Agreement. Our endeavor today is very simple, we want to do all of the above, and to do that I think thematically, if I can sum it up. In a very first we honestly believe that on the outset we should maintain our focus, with what is going on in the world, not only just recently but even over the last two years. I think there are so many campuses that are being through, if I could call it a magnetic loop being all over the place. We still have a steady campus, and it's giving us the direction which is the Vision 2030.

[M126-04] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:04:21 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And it is a steady campus, it enables us to continue focusing. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we have also maintained our focus for so many years in the past. We have had so many challenges to attend to. I could just name few, ever since the Gulf War and onward. In fact, my entire career which is now 30 almost 36, 37 years is all about attending to challenging times. And funny enough whenever we think that the challenging time is over, another challenging time pops up. So, we are familiar with handling both maintaining our focus, attending to our future, yet attending to these challenging times as they come. So, we have developed a kind of immunity, as if we were vaccinated as good as the vaccination, we've had from COVID. That in mind, we are focused in attending to the Paris agreement, to the letter and word of the Paris agreement. We honestly believe that should and should continue happening, while maintaining our commitment to the energy trilemma, which is to have a sustainable energy system, serving to help creating a sustainable economy and maintaining our commitment to the issue of climate change.

[M126-05] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:06:07 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

These three pillars have to be attended to, regardless of, because if we don't attend to energy security, if we don't to attend to a sustainable economy, I'm afraid we will be lacking the capabilities and the ability and the enablers to attend to climate change. There is no order to them, they are fundamentally as equally important, and we have to attend to the three trilemma, as it is. Two: for that to happen, we need to be cognizant of the fact that we have to look at, you know, the.. a circular, a holistic circular; and for that we have come forth with the concept of the circular carbon economy. Circular economy was there, we had left, you know added that carbon just to ensure that which we are much more focused. And actually, it entails with it not only necessarily carbon, but all greenhouse gases that affects climate change. And again we are cognizant of what the letter and the word of the Paris agreement. We also wanted to have a sense of focus that framework of the circular carbon economy gives us a focus built on the four components of the Four Rs. And actually we are keeping eye ourselves in how do we can be achieved.. achieving these Four RS. Just to give you an example, and I just want to make sure that our friends from.. our European friends understand that we're doing all of the above. And just.. I will just one use for the best for the sake of time, one hour which is reduced. Well, we have one of the best efficiency programs. I think it was vetted even by our friends, the EU, US and everywhere else.

[M126-06] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:08:20 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

So, Two: we still have a price reform that would encourage more efficiency. Three: we are doing the 50-50, we're moving from liquids in our belatedly, unfortunately, but that's a reality. we're moving away from liquids to be used on utilities to convert them into gas, and 50% of renewable. I would have to remind people that even the EU target is 45%, while ours is 50%. Three: we're not doing it without being aware of that transition requirements, but we are also cognizant of the fact that we should be inclusive, that is for attending to climate change. Some arrangements would need to be done which is focus on emissions on all sectors of all green houses, because this is ultimately will allow people to be included, especially if you are mindful of their national circumstances. And these are not my words. This is the.. it was embedded in Paris agreement. And we could carry on with that. But I assure you our target is to.. not just to do it, not to be dragged in doing it. No.. I would have to tell you, and I'm committed to that we want to be the model

[M126-08] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:11:28 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

The Circular Carbon Economy espouse all of the above solutions. To the extent also, we're talking about removing and removing is so crucial, because let's not forget that a third of the word population are suffering energy poverty. We have a team I think our friends saw their work we would love to get. In fact, I am approaching so many companies to have that reality check and more important to have the moral commitment that we cannot keep the 2.2 billion people behind. I spent last week or the week before and our. I'll give you an example you, we hosted willingly the Middle East Climate Change Week, nobody slapped our hands, nobody pushed us, nobody shoved us. Actually, we fought to host which we were granted. And the challenge that people thought we would be challenged is how could they host that event and yet can.. can come out with an image and a reality check on what we are doing. In fact, we invited everybody actually to come and see what we want to do. We were confident that what we would demonstrate to everybody is something that would lead people to reconfigure us in a different image than the image that is been we've been tainted with. But regardless, we wanted again to demonstrate what we are doing in reality, and how much we could do more.

[M126-09] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:13:24 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

If again the concept of inclusiveness, if the concept of all of the above is to be attended to, I think the whole world would run a better chance as you have rightly said that it we should just again congregate on emissions, and emissions only. How could you get countries in Africa, in Southeast Asia who are barely.. it's more or less hand-to-mouth situation. There are people that we work, physically work with, and we have teams in the ground working with these people. They would have to cut trees, they would have to burn trees to convert it to charcoal, and that charcoal will be sold, upon which they will be able to buy food. This is how severe the situation is. I cannot go and convince them that they should abandon that without giving them another proper solution. That's why in our Climate Week, we induce something different even which is not only to give them clean energy, but also intertwine it with e-education, with e-medicine which is again it could be an anomalies that can help uplifting these people in learning, in training, and in wellness in general, of which then I even said it's a 15-minutes in conversation that whatever you are in the spectrum, being a mercantilist or being a humanist, there is a case to be made that even if you want to take it from pure economical point of view uplifting the 2.2 billion people wellbeing actually enhance the world economy create better growth and bringing this 2.2.

[M126-10] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:15:26 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And I was right, and I will continue you saying it amongst those 2.2 billion. And I would use myself as an example, I believe honestly that probably 70% of those 2.2 billion people have a better IQ than myself. The difference I was given an opportunity, they were not given an opportunity. And if we are to be faithful to the idea of climate change and reduction of emissions, there is a platform there that we can all cohesively can work with. And we could work in everyone, but to go into this cherry-picking, selectivity. As if this it is actually in my judgment, and I hope I'm not wrong, and I hope that I did not lose my political sensibility, but then you are almost making climate change not only an objective, but actually a mean to get rid of something. I don't think this is honorable. I think what is the most honorable thing is to as we have, and said it quite a few times there is a climate change, there is a science that we believe that says the climate change is happening. We need to address that, but we need to address it in a proper collective, comprehensive way that takes into account national circumstances goes all through the sectors, using all different technologies. and as I said early we're here to demonstrate that this can be done here, and if it can be done here, the incubator of the biggest hydrocarbon resource country, I think it can happen elsewhere, because there actually they don't have the choices that we have.

[M126-12] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:18:06 · جلسة افتتاحية في #المنتدى_السعودي_الأوروبي · 2023-10-23 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

One final word. We're ready. We spent 4 hours.. 3 hours in the ministry, and then we had.. we had then two hours, happy hour.. a Saudi happy hour, just to make sure that people don't take it a.. A puritan Saudi happy hour. But.. but regardless of that our guests were there. I wasn't physically there. I actually had to be here in this place attending to another function regard to The President of Korea, but it .. it was.. it was even better, because the fact that I was in there, I have the solidest team that I am so proud of that team beyond your imagination, to the extent that I would trust them to sit with our friends here and speak up their minds. Almost all of those who spoke were below 30 years. And I'm so even proud to tell you that most of them were females. And this is the new Saudi Arabia that really had to be plugged into people's mind, where you have a government now that is more competent and fighting over talent with the private sector. This is the kind of image that we want you to come up out with. So, it is young, invigorated, determined Saudi Arabia. And nothing, no circumstances, no situation, nothing would let us forfeit, forgo our goals and ambitions, because it is not my fight, it is not my ambitions. It's this youthful, energetic generation that will do it for their own sake and for the sake of their own children. Thank you.