RIYADH: Martina Strong, chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy in Riyadh, praised the Al-Jouf Green Oasis Initiative that aims to protect nature by planting trees in the region. The US chargé d’affaires to the Kingdom accompanied by a delegation visited the Al-Jouf region, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Atif Al-Sharaan, mayor of Al-Jouf region, received the delegation in Sakaka and discussed issues of mutual interest. During the visit, Al-Sharaan briefed Strong on the initiative, previously launched by Prince Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz, governor of Al-Jouf region. The initiative aims to plant as many as one million trees within 10 years across the region. Strong planted a tree within the initiative, expressing her admiration for the environmental program. Strong also paid a visit to the General Organization for Irrigation facilities in Al-Jouf, where she visited one of the model farms and discussed projects for the sustainable use of water in Al-Jouf, the US Mission in the Kingdom tweeted. Her visit comes amid recent environmental plans announced by the Kingdom. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently announced the Saudi Green and the Middle East Green initiatives, saying that they will help protect nature and face environmental challenges. The Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative aim to chart a path for Saudi Arabia and the region to help protect the planet by rallying the region to confront climate change. The Kingdom will work through the Saudi Green Initiative to raise vegetation cover, reduce carbon emissions, combat pollution and land degradation, and preserve marine life. It will include a number of ambitious initiatives, most notably the planting of 10 billion trees within the Kingdom in the coming decades. The Saudi Green Initiative will also work to reduce carbon emissions by more than 4 percent of global contributions by generating 50 percent of the Kingdom’s energy from renewables by 2030.