By Yousef Sabah

RIYADH, (Reuters) – The world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, will discuss its plans for addressing climate change during an environment conference on Saturday.

In March, the Saudi Green Initiative was first revealed. It will be presented ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties or COP26 in Glasgow (Oct. 31 – Nov. 12). This conference hopes to achieve deeper emission cuts in order to combat global warming.

Riyadh (a signatory to Paris climate pact) has not announced any nationally determined contributions. These are the goals of individual states within global efforts for preventing global temperature rises beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

Both the US and EU would like Saudi Arabia to participate in a global effort to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030, from their 2020 levels. John Kerry, U.S. climate representative will participate in a regional summit on the Middle East hosted by Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia pledged to cut carbon emissions by more that 4% through global contributions. Initiatives include generating half of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2030, and planting billions in the desert.

The United Arab Emirates has not yet set a net zero goal. The United Arab Emirates, another Gulf OPEC producer, announced earlier in the month a plan to achieve net-zero emission by 2050.

Saudi Arabia, despite the energy efficiency improvements and the push for renewable energy, has been criticised by Climate Action Tracker, which gave it the lowest rating of “critically inadequate”.

Because the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has not attempted to diversify economic income, Saudi Arabia’s economy continues to be heavily dependent upon oil income. Saudi officials claim that the world will need Saudi oil for many decades.

Experts warn that it is still too early to know the effects of Saudi’s growing solar and wind energy projects. The country’s first solar and wind energy facility opened in April, while its first wind farm started generating electricity in August.

Megaprojects such as the futuristic city NEOM incorporate green energy plans. This includes a $5 billion hydrogen station. Saudi state-linked entities also pivot to green fundraising.

Some investors are concerned about Saudi Arabia’s carbon footprint. Other analysts claim Saudi Arabia has the lowest amount of carbon per barrel and Prince Mohammed is serious in economic diversification.

    “Obviously the carbon footprint is an issue. We would like to highlight the fact that carbon will be slow to phase-out, and that oil is still here for some time,” Tim Ash from BlueBay Asset Management stated in an emailed comment.