Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum

[M135-01] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:00:01 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

People in the front row are laughing. I don't know why they are laughing, but I will disappoint them. First of all, I couldn't be as gracious as my friend, Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mining and welcoming you all. I think they are great audience, so I congratulate you, Bandar, and your team. So, keep it up.

[M135-02] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:00:37 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

But I was asked to join trying to bring about some anomaly on the issue of energy and how much we are intertwined in our.. both our endeavors and the relationship is so obvious; be it in terms of what the energy sector can do in supporting mining, and what would be the calling of tomorrow when it comes to the new energy spectrum, and how much energy Security will be changing in the future from resource-based energy security to minerals and materials energy security, whereby without attending to this issue, you will run out of energy security and you will have an energy security issue.

[M135-03] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:01:50 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

This endeavor is also a cause to enable us to actually take a lead in so many of the issues, because we are also as a responsible country we want to do everything with a view that we shall do all of the above mindful of our commitment to the more daunting issue, more serious issue which is Climate Change. I know we've been called names and we are a victim of misconceived perceptions, but in reality and I will take a few minutes in just describing to you not only that we are taking Climate Change issues seriously, but actually we're taking a lead and we're seeking and we're publicly here and elsewhere in many events are saying to the word "catch us if you can in a way", so we have if I can have the screen. I'm just going to describe you a quick journey that we've launched few years back which is about 40 years or so. We have ever since 2019 we've been talking about energy transitioning and that's why I find it peculiar why people are questioning this word. Well, we've been talking about it ever since 2019

[M135-04] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:03:47 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And luckily at COP 28, people realized that the right vocabulary is this, but we moved along also in investing and what we believe that would be the right energy transitioning that is pertinent to Saudi Arabia. We even in the same year in this very room during the FII 2019, we launched the Circular Carbon Economy with its own components. We also launched the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, because it was the very pillar; these two initiatives are the two main pillars of how can we attend to the Circular Carbon Economy, not only that, PIF had started a year and a half ago a voluntary Carbon Market, but in during the MENA Week which it is an event that COP MENACW, we have also launched our own greenhouse gas crediting and offsetting domestic mechanism. It's a pilot, we want to make sure that we will spend the next two three years to ensure that it is uh..uh it's put together properly and would meet the standards of the UNFCC. And hopefully, we will have a Credit Market or a Carbon Market or Emissions Market, if we can. We're also hoping to make sure that it becomes regional market with its own commitments to be fitting for the needs of the region for Saudi Arabia first and also for the region.

[M135-05] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:05:58 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Now, just to take a testament of what we're saying I brought some old pictures of events that we've hosted. This is an event that we hosted in the UAE, September I think 11th, during the week the World Energy Council. And again, you see in that black corner there, we talked about energy transitioning and even in the exhibition that we had. This is during the FII, as I was mentioning to you earlier. This is what we have done in the Circular Carbon Economy, and this is again in the world Council in 2021. This is during the Jeddah Summit, which is in July 22. Again, we've been talking about KSA green transition journey. This is during COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, and again you will see us talking about transitioning, and this is during this year in September in Canada. It's quite obvious that we've been talking about energy transitioning. This is during the MENA Week, the Climate MENA Week, which took place in this year, or last year just before the Pre-COP And the COP

[M135-06] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:07:53 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And this is during the COP, during the COP, Yes. And here you go, the wonderful building that Saudi Arabia had built during the EXPO 2020. This is the biggest screen that you have seen visited by thousands of people those who attended the COP, and this is one of the projections that we have. And I have to emphasize that this thing appeared way before we closed the meeting, but this is the greatest transformation that happened in Saudi Arabia. This is my friend who visited us yesterday, and I was not there, but he was attended to by some of our .. my colleagues in the ministry . All of the females that you see here are the one who delivered the presentations, I came at the end of the meeting. So, in reality the real transformation and transitioning that is delivering us all of this transitioning, be it in energy or elsewhere, it is this kind of caliber that we should celebrate. COP I would.. I owe it to our friends to the UAE and I owe it to my friend Sultan Al-Jaber. They spent a full year being, named, accused by all sorts of accusation.

[M135-07] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:09:44 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And again the same rhythm, how come an oil country producer, an OPEC and OPEC PLUS Country host a COP, and you would think it would be a successful COP, and the challenge was high not only for our friends from the UAE, but actually a challenge that we took it also our upon ourselves too, because it would have actually delivered this an opportunity, rather than uh being squeezed in a corner of delivering what we are really doing, and what are really doing is something especially us in the UAE, that is commensurate of a responsible energy producer. It just so happened that we as a country in case if you noticed, and we will show it to, you we have moved we no longer are being called an oil producing or leading producing country or leading exporting oil country. Our tag now, and what we are working on is that we would like to be an energy producing country of all sorts of energy. So, our task is to prove it, and we shall but because the event was hosted by the UAE, we had to work with our friends not only to help them to deliver, but also enable us to showcase what are our true colors, how much we are committed to the issue of climate change, and how much we're taking a lead

[M135-08] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:11:50 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Again this is what we have been delivered at the end of the day of COP28. I'm not that sarcastic, but actually what we have achieved is a menu (a la carte menu) that a la carte menu, I did put it in a French style, just to make sure that people can be enticed. You could see that type of menu and any through of riser in Paris, but in reality this is it. It talks about the Preamble or the Chapo. Now, we're using French menu, it talks about Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Yes, it talks about getting to the pathway of 1.5%, but it calls also on the issue of global effort that is nationally determined, in a nationally determined manner take into account Paris agreement and the different National circumstances Pathways and approaches which is the very core pillar of the Paris Agreement, because Paris agreement did not dictate a top bottom approach, Paris Agreement dictated a bottom-up approach, mindful of national circumstances, mindful of the fact there are the developed countries and developing country, and there are countries that are suffering huge amount of energy poverty and you can't equate them.

[M135-09] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:13:44 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

It talks about calling on contributing, and all of that language enabled everybody to believe that all of these eight items you have in front of you are choices, that's why I call it " a la carte menu", and if you see every component here, you will see that it match some of these countries or all of these countries' choices of what they want to do. So, it's almost like somebody who's eating; somebody is vegetarian, some is vegetarian, somebody is meat lover, whatever it is, it is there. So, what we have achieved is choices that people can pick based on their nationally determined circumstances and of course pathways and approaches of their own choice. But I have even few words here just to show you, where is the Saudi touch if I could claim it, but there are people who are were witnesses of these discussions I have to confess that for the first 2 three days, there are some who elected to go and negotiate through the media, and we were in the brinks of losing touch with what we were supposed to achieve.

[M135-10] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:15:20 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

But hopefully luckily, with good interventions, people start focusing that the good old ploy of using the media to negotiate is actually going to be a cause for disturbing the potential success of the meeting. But going back to where we are in our comfort zone, trebling renewable energy capacity globally, Hallelujah, we're doing 2 and a half today by 2013, we will be doing at least 100 and hopefully 130, if demand is there, but we know for certain that we will go not only three folds, but 25 folds of what we are doing today. Efficiency: the efficiency program Saudi Arabia had was launched in 2011, but really when we start executing programs, it was within the bulbar of 2013. So, roughly it's been a 10-year endeavor. W hat we know, and I will show you the numbers later on. I'll keep it to show you the numbers, but what we know we're lagging behind the US and the European Union , but with a big difference. All these OECD IA countries have launched these programs early on from the 70s, and the gap between the 70s and US starting in 2011 is 30 years

[M135-11] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:17:17 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And yet I've already commissioned our Efficiency Center to give us a comparison of where we are vis-a-vis the US and the EU, when it comes to our efficiency standard and how much is the gap. My guesstimate I don't think will be that far away, but probably 3 to four years at best 5 years, so we're playing the catch-up, and I wouldn't be surprised that by 2030 we'll be at bar, with the efficiency standards, that are practiced in the US and probably the EU. Accelerating effort toward face down of unabated call that has been a language with us since Glasgow, John Kerry, Alex Sharma can testify that I was the one who brought that language for them on G20 in Naples. It was rejected by some of our friends, but then it was accepted in Glasgow. But again who would have a problem with avoiding or phasing out or phasing down using Abated Coal, I cannot think of anybody who has any consciousness would have an argument or a debate about that.

[M135-12] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:18:47 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

C. Accelerating effort globally toward Net Zero Emission Energy System, and this comes what is important for you here being attending the issue of mining. I have spent a great deal of time, and again there are witnesses to that, telling our friends from the US EU and others that if we don't watch out mitigating and watching out the carbon or emission footprints in the entire value chain, everybody will run the risk of being deceived, we will be deceiving ourselves to think that the solar electricity or the wind electricity that we're getting or the car that we are driving is climate-friendly and would deliver us the 1.5 percent of 1.5 degree, simply because we have to look at how that value chain was created, specifically in mining, and specifically in chemicals, and I'll give you an example: a car, we have to look at the component of that car, we have to look at the 50% of the chemical component of the car and ask ourself was that 50% was it produced from a sustainable chemicals or not? We're going to be delivering that ourself, we ask the question, the batteries, the metals, the everything: how these minerals were mined? Are they mined by unabated coal, upon which these minerals will be used, and when you receive your car you would think it's climate-friendly?

[M135-13] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:20:54 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

But you don't know that the 50% of the components were mined, using electricity, using coal or unabated coal or even an abated hydrocarbon, but worse you would under think also that even the electricity that got to be used in manufacturing the car, the source of it is unabated coal, so it's both in mining, in creating the component manufacturing the component, and in producing the final product; be it a solar panel or be it a car or a windmill. We just have to make sure to be fair to everybody and to avoid border taxes. What have you? We have been, we continue advocating that let's put together standards that would make the whole playing field equitable to everybody, and be cleansed from the fact that we're not hiding behind things that is not really truly attentive to climate change. So, it is our word. Now, transitioning away from fossil fuel and Energy System. Again, people look at this, but then they don't look at the other piece in an orderly, equitable manner, exhilarating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve the need for zero by 2050 in keeping with the science. Again, this is the spirit of the menu. There are countries that believe that people should need to transition away from fossil fuels.

[M135-14] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:22:54 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Well, in our case, as Saudi Arabia, we're doing that. Domestically, we're saving a million barrels of oil, and we will.. the difference we will not stop producing that million, but we will export it in a way that will also be used in a proper way somewhere else, because we are also working hard, continue to work hard on our scope one and scope two. So, it is a holistic thing. In other countries, we told them if you really believe in phasing down and phasing out or what have you why don't you in this very room, during the FII, I said to some of these countries that are desperate and determined to phase out and phase down fossil fuels, I told them while some of you are big producers of fossil fuels, so why don't you take the lead and January 1st 24 issue a law or a program or an announcement that says we're going to freeze our fossil fuel production and later on we will an issue also a detailed program on how are you going to phase out or phase down. Luckily, January 1st 24 passed and nobody issued a statement which means that people are still interested in continuing producing fossil fuels, however like us, and should be the calling of everybody, we have to work on mitigating those fossil fuels. I would also as an eye catcher for you, look at the difference between the language. If facing down Unabated Coal, or if transitioning away from fossil fuel is equal to phasing down or facing out, why did…we could have used the same word interchangeably, but there is a difference here, which is what I mentioned to you; there are people that are transitioning because they want to change their energy mix, like us.

[M135-15] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:25:14 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And there are those who believe that they should transition away, because they don't want to use fossil fuel. So, the spirit of the menu is here. I know I took a lot of time on this one. Now, again that issue in a just and equitable manner exerting. Again, there are countries that cannot afford these things, you can't get a country X Y Z to stop producing gas, to stop producing oil or coal and change it for renewable or nuclear, when they haven't got the means. So, the principle is equity which is embedded in the Paris agreement and the UN FCC Convention was embedded there. The talk is also as we have seen in the preamble, it's all about low emission and it describes a variety of choices and finally unluckily we had embedded our carbon capture and utilization and storage as a tool, recognized tool for what I mean to abate, but also there is another recognition here. No one are now talking about Green Hydrogen, but there is a commitment here of talking about Clean Hydrogen, because it doesn't make a difference if you're producing a Clean Hydrogen, be it the source of it is Blue Hydrogen which is coming from gas or hydrocarbons, but you are going to sequester it and abate, it makes no difference, but this is another recognition that we want it to have, because we want to achieve the thing ourself which is getting ARAMCO to produce Blue Hydrogen and getting DIF & PIF Associates to produce the Green Hydrogen.

[M135-16] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:27:26 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Accelerating a stainable reduction of New Carbon Dioxide, that's a calling for everybody. We're doing it, we made an announcement in the Saudi Green Initiative, we're reducing our CO2 by 278 Million Tons. And hopefully in our new NDC, we might have even a better number than that. Accelerating the reduction of emission of road transport and a range of pathways, and on a range of pathways. Again, let's not forget that this is the country that will produce I don't know three or four different cars most of it are electrical cars by the way, so it doesn't sink with me that we're been called as whatever it is, but here you go we even created a space for low emission cars in any range of way which is give you the flexibility that you require so long as your commitment to emission reduction, and the latter part which has been with us for so many years; be it in the G20 or here. In this one, actually the language here is even better than the inherited language in the G20, because it talks about getting or phasing out of insufficient, inefficient fossil fuel, subsidy that do not address energy poverty, so we created that cabinet that for those countries that suffer from energy poverty have to have a meaningful way of surviving through their troublesome economies, and also it allow for a just transition. You can't get people to go for renewable, or what have you without giving them something that can convince them that transitioning will help them meet ends, meet - you know - ends, meet ends, at the end of the day, and they will be paying less rather than more than what they are paying now.

[M135-17] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:29:50 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And as soon as possible, it's an endeavor for everybody. Now, I just want to take you why we are doing that so I want to make sure first that the menu is something that we were willing to agree to, because this is what we are doing the circular. I'm just giving you examples on the components, the four components of the circular carbon economy and you could see that we will do all of the above because the CCS does give us a sense of focus of how should we achieve these things. This is just few of the things that we are doing, just to give you know efficiency, within 10 years we reduced the equivalent to for almost 500,000 barrels of what have would have been our consumption had we continued the old ways. Our aspiration on renewable on our potential of exporting hydrogen or electricity or both, and that's why we came up with this idea of the bridge, and that's why we are all over the bridge today. Yesterday, we had our friends from the US today. I'm receiving the Vice Chancellor of Germany talking about hydrogen and green electricity to Europe. There is no platform on planet Earth that we're not using to advocate that we want not only be an energy supplier, but a big energy, you know, clean or green energy supplies to the world as much as we can and as much as we can find collaboration from others, and we are engaged in the most liberal approach in having to entice people to come and invest and Export to their own countries

[M135-18] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:32:04 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And I'll give you an example comes to hydrogen, come as X Inc., Germany Inc., France Inc., Japan Inc., Korea Inc.. You want to do the renewable yourself, come and do it. You want to do the hydrogen yourself, come and do it. You want to export it by a pipeline, please do. You want to do the electricity yourself, fine. You want to transmit it through a transmission line, you can do it. You want local Partners, we're here, we have quite a few national champions that can be partner with. You don't want a national champion, come and do it, as long as you commit yourself to our localization program and you recruit Saudis, because the economic benefit will be here and the economic diversity will happen here and so on, and so on. I know that somebody's going to kill me for taking more of the time, but look at the green and Mideast Green Initiatives who could envisage that Saudi Arabia is committed to do Greening in Saudi Arabia for 10 million Billion. We, as Saudis we can tell you we're noticing the difference in temperature and also the holistic or. and not only the temperature and the sandstorm that we used to get everybody noticed that the last 3 four years that these sandstorm had come calmed down in a magnitude that we never thought it would happen, but even our commitment to the 50 Billion, and by the way, the scope of the Mideast Green Initiatives had even got larger, because now it includes so many other countries not recognized as being a Middle East countries.

[M135-19] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:34:00 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

I think it's not working, sorry. We're doing again some of these things that.. that are futuristic but .. but again we really believe that we could have an edge and more important we really believe that we have the materials or can produce the materials at a competitive cost where it would give us a lead. Now, this is the kind of international collaboration that we're doing. Virtually, I don't think of anything that is running in planet Earth that has to do with climate change or mitigation be it Methane Co2 to that we are not a party to. In fact, we're gonna be soon hosting the events as the Net Z Producer Forum Ministerial hopefully in April, the COP 16 United Nation on Desertification will be hosted here in Saudi Arabia, and we will have the Saudi Green Initiative Forum and Middle East Green Initiative Summit very soon. We have even during the COP, we ourself and the UAE have co-launched a very important initiative with regard to making sure that 12 of the largest companies, one of it ARAMCO and ADNOC and virtually every other major oil company on planet Earth, have committed themselves on Methane by 2030 and also in CO2 by 2050.

[M135-20] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:36:12 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

You know, Why we did it and ARAMCO did it, because we know that we are the lowest amongst all of the big oil companies. As a country, we know as I said earlier when it comes to CO2, we're number two to Denmark, when it comes to me than we are number two to Norway. It is really beating us to be the number two, but we're working on it. Now, when it comes to this event, we know as I said earlier in the beginning, the relationship between energy industry and Mining are interlining, and we have another third component, a very enabling component which is PIF the three are working together amongst many other government agencies just to make sure including our friends from the ministry of investment, including the economic cities including Jubail and Yanbu, including Ras El-Khair, King Abdullah, all of the above. We know that we will only succeed in delivering all of our ambitions when we work collectively, and cohesively without which none of us will achieve anything, so what we have for you in the energy sector is a very ambitious localization program. We are aspiring to achieve the 75%. Our concern is equal to your concern which is finding the amount of materials and raw materials and minerals that will deliver us, not only the panels and the cars and everything, but also it is as I said earlier the future of energy Security will be dependent on that.

[M135-21] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:38:30 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

And therefore, we welcome you here to come and join us with the new numbers that my friend Bandar has just announced to exploit the country, but even our calling goes even internationally that's why PIF created this company Manara Minerals which was as a result of working with the PIF on why should we leave ourself exposed for materials that may not exist in Saudi Arabia, but are needed. So, we would like to work with you as the three Us on figuring out what materials are needed for our own cause for your own cause, if it is available in Saudi Arabia you're welcome to come and dig it and find it and share it with us. If we don't have it, we're willing to partner with you to get you to join us, or to join you in attending to this serious, quest but also we have another option which is if we can supply everybody with the right clean energy, you stand a better chance that whatever minerals that you are going to be producing here will meet the test of clean mining business which enables you actually to overcome the hurdle of questioning the source of your minds and the quality of the minerals that you're producing and also your ability to sell it

[M135-22] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:40:27 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

We're even going further than that with our friend from the Ministry of Industry, which is why would you just sell it as a raw material, come and manufacture it and take it on to the last piece of molecule of conversion that can happen. It will only enable us to exploit that resource and maximize the value of that resource. As for those who wants to do anything on to hard to abate industries, especially in mining. again as I said earlier we're going to be the Canteen of Energy. You want Green Hydrogen, you can have it. You want Clean Hydrogen, you can have it. you want Green Electricity, you can have it. Just give us your name and the name of your company, and the name of the person, tell us when you want that electricity, where, because we are now exploiting or actually surveying every corner of this country to ensure that anybody who wants to have any electricity or any hydrogen potentially can be delivered almost to his home address. with that I rest my case.

[M135-23] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:41:56 · Minister of Energy at the Future Minerals Forum · 2024-01-10 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

But I cannot rest, nor Bandar rest, nor my colleague here can rest, because our task.. we know that the task is tough and big, but also we know that we have to deliver to our partner, potential Partners a credible set of enablers, an incredible set of commitments. And if we do, we stand a better chance of delivering our own ambitions and helping other to deliver their own ambitions. Sorry for taking much of your time, and I thank you for this opportunity. Thank you