RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the US are committed to addressing the increasing climate challenge with “seriousness and urgency,” a joint statement said on Wednesday. The two countries will work to strengthen the implementation of the Paris Agreement and actively promote a successful G20 in Italy and UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow. They also affirmed the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking action during the 2020s to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. The joint statement came after the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry visited the Kingdom where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia and the US said they intended to work together to actively support and engage bilaterally on the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, including on clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and land use. The countries will also collaborate on accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and low-emissions power systems in the region, encourage private sector partnerships, and support ocean-based and nature-based solutions for addressing both mitigation and adaptation. The two sides also aim to cooperate on the potential of clean hydrogen to address the hardest to abate sectors and to partner to accelerate clean hydrogen’s development and deployment.