Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets US climate envoy in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US climate envoy John Kerry on Wednesday in Riyadh discussed international efforts to curb climate change.

Mr Kerry arrived in the kingdom after his visit to Abu Dhabi this week for talks that focused on using action on climate change to drive regional and global growth.

The US and Saudi Arabia " are committed to addressing the increasing climate challenge with seriousness and urgency," a joint statement issued after the meeting read.

"Both countries affirm the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking adaptation actions during the 2020s to avoid the worst consequences of climate change."

During the meeting, the officials "discussed the kingdom's initiatives in confronting climate change, reducing emissions and preserving the environment and its components", Saudi Arabia's state news agency reported.

The kingdom has introduced several programmes aimed at slowing environmental degradation and tackling the climate emergency.

"The talks focused on Saudi Arabia's Green Initiative and the Green Middle East in addition to its efforts during the G20 summit in pushing the adoption of a circular carbon economy," it said.

The meeting was attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Prince Khalid bin Salman, Deputy Minister of Defence, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Abdulrahman Al Fadly, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

In April, Prince Mohammed launched the Green Initiative and Middle East Green Initiative, part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 programme to reshape its economy, placing the kingdom at the centre of regional efforts to meet international targets on environmental projects.

Prior to meeting with Prince Mohammed, Mr Kerry was in Abu Dhabi this week for talks that focused on using action on climate change to drive regional and global growth.
The visit earlier this week was Mr Kerry's second to the UAE's capital, after he attended the UAE Regional Climate Dialogue several months ago.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.	United States
2.	China
3.	UAE
4.	Japan
5	Norway
6.	Canada
7.	Singapore
8.	Australia
9.	Saudi Arabia
10.	South Korea

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.