Poverty + Development

For the first time, Saudi Arabia, oil empire, commits to fixing climate change

Big news from a country that depends on oil for 90% of its exports and sits on roughly 16% of the world's oil reserves.

By Andrew Freeman for Mashable

This is big: Saudi Arabia, which has an economy that depends on petroleum for 80% of its budget revenues, is now thinking of a world after oil for the first time.

With oil prices near historical lows and momentum building toward the Paris Climate Summit at the end of November, Saudi Arabia is hopping aboard the climate action bandwagon — to an extent, at least.

Saudi Arabia's stock market, valued at $585 billion, opened up to direct foreign investment for the first time. Hasan Jamali/AP

A Saudi man walks at the Tadawul Saudi Stock Exchange, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, June 15, 2015. Saudi Arabia’s stock market, valued at $585 billion, opened up to direct foreign investment for the first time Monday, as the kingdom seeks an economic boost amid low global oil prices. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

On Tuesday, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia submitted its climate plan to the United Nations and there’s a subtle but very surprising tidbit in it: Saudi Arabia is looking for ways to diversify its economy beyond a reliance on oil and gas.

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