Saudi Arabia has announced a sweeping “greening” campaign as part of Vision 2030. The centrepiece is the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI), launched in 2021 under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. SGI pledges to plant 10 billion trees across the Kingdom (and 40 billion more in the wider Middle East) and to rehabilitate roughly 74 million hectares of desert and degraded land. It also aims to cut carbon emissions by hundreds of millions of tonnes, protect 30% of land and sea area, and achieve net-zero greenhouse gases by 2060.
In practical terms, Saudi has so far announced over 85 green projects (worth some USD 188 billion) spanning afforestation, land restoration and conservation, all to improve air quality, curb dust and modernise its economy.
Saudi Arabia is experimenting with massive irrigation (shown above in an April 1997 NASA image) to turn desert into farmland. The Green Initiative calls for planting 10 billion trees and greening 74 million hectares of desert. Such efforts will rely heavily on water management in an arid country.
Planting The Desert: Saudi Green Initiative
The SGI’s tree-planting goal is one of the world’s largest. In addition to vast new woodlands, Saudi plans “green corridors” and urban greening (e.g., the Green Riyadh city project). Official statements trumpet that 600-plus million trees will be in the ground by 2030, en route to 10 billion over coming decades.
These trees, mostly drought-tolerant varieties like date palms and acacias, are meant to stabilise soils, shade farmland and soak up CO₂. The government also highlights efforts in land rehabilitation: restoring coastal mangroves, oasis restoration and preventing desertification around population centres. Carbon capture is another pillar; Saudi Arabia talks of a “circular carbon economy” that recycles or stores CO₂.
Indeed, state oil giant Aramco is testing large-scale carbon capture and even pilot direct-air capture units in desert conditions. In theory, these could trap CO₂ from power plants or even the air, offsetting emissions from oil production.
Rays Of Change: Renewable Energy Push
Alongside afforestation, Saudi is racing to build new clean-energy infrastructure. The Kingdom has set a target of sourcing 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, expanding capacity to roughly 130 gigawatts (GW). Nearly 60 GW of that is slated to be solar PV, 40 GW wind, with the rest from waste and other sources.
Recent power auctions have signed contracts for multiple large solar farms (over 5.5 GW worth of projects at a cost of USD 3.3 billion). International firms are moving in. For example, EDF Renewables and TotalEnergies won solar park contracts totalling 1.7 GW during a state visit by France’s president. And Saudi is not only electrifying; it is also betting on green hydrogen.
The futuristic NEOM city in the desert will host a USD 8.4 billion plant, powered by 4 GW of solar, that aims to produce 600 tonnes of hydrogen per day by 2026 for export. These projects, along with wind farms and solar fields (as illustrated by the solar array above), show Saudi’s pivot from oil to sun and breeze.
Alongside trees, Saudi plans vast renewables build-out. Above, solar panels at a Saudi photovoltaic farm (2015). Riyadh aims for about 50% of its electricity from solar and wind by 2030. Major contracts have been signed with global energy companies for multi-gigawatt solar parks.
Hurdles And Critics
Despite the optimism, experts caution that such massive greening is formidable in an arid environment. Water is scarce; Saudi agriculture already relies on deep “fossil” groundwater and desalination. As NASA imagery notes, centre-pivot farms draw non-renewable aquifers that accumulated in past ice ages, so these green circles in the desert have “limited production as the reservoirs are drained.”
Critics ask: where will water for 10 billion trees come from? In short, planting trees in the Empty Quarter deserts will require huge ongoing irrigation or alternative sources. On the technical side, the desert climate poses high heat and dust challenges for solar panels and carbon-capture systems.
Rolling out these technologies at scale needs more investment and demonstration. Local investors warn it can be “extremely hard” to raise funds for desert-ag tech without foreign help.
Politically, Saudi’s green agenda also sits uneasily beside its oil ambitions. The same government pushing 10 billion trees remains the world’s largest crude exporter. At the recent COP28 climate summit, Saudi Arabia flatly refused to endorse any “phase-out” of fossil fuels, insisting instead on a vague “transition away.” Some environmentalists have accused Riyadh of “greenwashing,” using impressive-sounding projects to distract from continued oil expansion.
For example, human rights NGOs point out that the SGI announcement coincided with plans to increase oil production, and that Saudi’s climate pledges (like net-zero by 2060) allow decades more emissions than richer countries’ targets. In May 2024, the European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights warned that the SGI “conceals the country’s ongoing reliance on fossil fuels… behind lofty sustainability promises.”
Critics question the desert-greening plan’s realism. Even a neglected palm plantation (above) struggles in the harsh terrain. Water shortages and heat mean only specially adapted crops survive, underscoring doubts about planting 10 billion trees.
International Views And The Road Ahead
Global reaction to Saudi’s green plans has been mixed. Some see SGI as a welcome shift. Notably, OPEC (including Saudi itself) has applauded the initiative, and all 13 OPEC nations have now signed the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Major powers like France and China are partnering on Saudi renewables deals, suggesting both commercial interest and diplomatic support. For instance, France’s EDF and TotalEnergies are teaming with Saudi firms on solar projects, and in May 2025 Saudi and Germany signed an agreement to export 200,000 tons of green hydrogen annually to Europe by 2030 (via ACWA Power) under a new MoU.
However, many international observers remain cautious. Environmental groups note that turning pledges into results will be the real test. As one analyst put it, Saudi’s renewable goals are a “step forward” but likely to remain “elusive” without political will and realistic plans. The final COP28 climate accord even had to settle for language “transition away from” fossil fuel, a compromise that fell short of what island states demanded, largely because oil exporters like Saudi resisted stronger wording.
In sum, the SGI has raised Saudi Arabia’s climate profile and opened new economic opportunities (renewable exports, green investments), but whether it will translate into substantial carbon cuts or healthier deserts is still uncertain. The world is watching closely; success would mark a historic transformation, while failure could reinforce the suspicion that the Kingdom’s grand environment plans are more about image than impact.