THIS morning I climbed into my Suzuki Swift Sport — a very popular car among Saudi youths — and set off for work. Initially the ride was pleasant, as I find Jeddah a very beautiful city with plenty of random art to keep my interest piqued during my daily commute from Al-Rawdah to the Al-Rehab District. I mean what city do you know has giant geometrical tools — a compass, triangle, protractor and a ruler — in the center of one of its many roundabouts? Not to mention the giant bicycle at Siteen and Rawdah Street, very impressive indeed. I also got a kick out of admiring the luxury model vehicles on the road that are relatively popular in the Kingdom, given the fairly large number of affluent Saudis here. “Wait, is that a Lamborghini Aventador? Why yes it is. Nice.” However, after a while the ride started to take its toll on me. Sitting impatiently in traffic I start to wonder, “Why has it already been 45 minutes and I'm yet to reach the halfway mark to my destination?” On Fridays — an Islamic holy day — this drive only takes 15 minutes at most. As I continued to grow more frustrated I wondered, “Why during the work week is the commute so hectic? And why does it feel as if I've been sitting at a standstill for an eternity?” Then I looked around and notice, as far as my eyes could see, cars from every possible direction had come to a complete standstill, excluding those who had resulted to driving on the sidewalks of course. My commute to work has certainly become an arduous effort within itself. In fact, by the time I reach work, I'm almost too tired to be a productive employee. Having moved to the Kingdom from New York City, I often reminisce about the days when I had the option to hop on the train and allow the conductor to take me to many destinations. They say a car is a status symbol in developing countries around the world. Well, based on the congested roads within the Kingdom's major cities — Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah — I'd say Saudi Arabia has certainly arrived. However, let's try and forget about the mere inconvenience the commute described above has on commuters on a daily basis for a moment, and shift our thoughts to the toll this amount of vehicles on the road will eventually have on our planet. It is certainly true that fossil fuels are the energy source that helped shape modern day society. However, burning coal, oil and gas has had an enormous impact on the environment. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) have been identified as the primary factors responsible for global climate change; one of the most critical issues facing the global community in the twenty-first century. However, one shouldn't be too discouraged by this statement, as there is still hope. According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, “Handled correctly, our fight against global warming could set the stage for an eco-friendly transformation of the global economy — one that spurs growth and develops rather than crimps it, as many nations fear.” The issue then becomes whether Saudi Arabia is ready to put forth drastic actions that will help decrease its carbon footprint and help spur global growth, oppose to facilitating a sweeping decline. With a country's economic development comes a greater responsibility, not only for the wellbeing of its inhabitants, but also for the wellbeing of the environment. I suppose every country must start somewhere in its efforts to decrease its carbon footprints. For Saudi Arabia, it is only logical to start with its transportation problem. First things first. Let's understand the reason why in 2007 our daily commutes nearly took only half the time to reach our final destination than it does today. A simple answer to this query is that there are hundreds of thousands more cars on the road than there were in 2007. A more complex answer to this query however is that there are several factors at play that are responsible for the Kingdom's growing traffic woes and CO2 output. These factors include a strong population growth, coupled with a rise in GDP per head, fuel subsidies and limited public transportation. Together, these factors are a recipe for congested roads and what will in due course lead to an environmental disaster. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in 2007 the sales of new passenger cars within the Kingdom were only 480,000. However, there has been a steady increase in passenger car sales since then. Last year new passenger car sales surpassed 700,000 and are projected to reach 793,000 by 2016. The logic behind this increase is quite simple. If a country's nationals are taking home a higher paycheck, huge fuel subsidies keep a liter of petroleum priced lower than a liter of water and public transportation remains limited, then it is guaranteed that the increase in passenger cars will maintain a steady incline, which is what the Kingdom is currently experiencing. The above numbers, however, do not include the increasing amount of commercial vehicles currently being imported into the Kingdom, which is reflective of the country's growing construction industry. There are several factors responsible for this growth, including the government's plan to build 500,000 affordable homes to accommodate its growing population. To build 500,000 homes is no small feat and requires a vast amount of trucks and heavy vehicles, thus the influx you may have noticed. In addition to the increase of trucks and heavy vehicles, bus imports are on the rise also due to several government agencies and a growing tourism industry that require buses. And we have not even looked into the possibility of the demand that could be triggered if the government decides to lift the ban on women drivers. But let us not rack our brain about this slippery slope just yet. The bottom line is, if this behavior continues unchecked, Saudi's car culture will eventually contribute significantly to climate change as CO2 emissions per head in Saudi Arabia today is shockingly high. According to EIU reports, in 2011 CO2 emissions were 16.4 tons per head compared with just 2.4 tons in Egypt and 17.3 tons in the US. “With continued low fuel prices and rising wealth levels increasing the numbers of cars in Saudi roads, we expect CO2 emissions per head in the Kingdom to surpass those in the US in 2014, and to reach 19.1 tons in 2016,” the report concludes. If Saudi Arabia keeps going in the direction projected by EIU, then its roads will eventually turn into parking lots and perhaps the pollution in the cities will someday match China's. Fortunately, a bit of light is starting to form at the end of the tunnel, which is coming from both Makkah and Riyadh. Currently within the western region the Haramain high-speed rail project is under construction, which will link the Muslim holy cities of Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah. With a capacity to transport 38,000 passengers a day, the Saudi authorities predict the railway will serve 3 million passengers a year. The Saudi Railway Organization cited the impacts and benefits of the project as a way to alleviate the pressure and congestion on the roads between Makkah and Madinah as well as Jeddah Governorate. Once on track, the train will provide comfort, safety and speed. The project will also help reduce the Kingdom's carbon footprints by reducing the pollution caused by vehicle exhausts. In addition to these benefits, it could also displace petroleum use in both passenger and commercial vehicles. In addition to these developments, Saudi Railway recently announced plans to operate a passenger and goods train next year that will link Riyadh with the five cities of Al-Majmah, Al-Qassim, Hail, Al-Jouf and Al-Qurayyat. The trains will travel at 200 kms an hour and have the capacity to service 2 million passengers a year. Once these high-speed railway projects are completed next year, the impact it will have on the Kingdom will be immeasurable, enabling it to play a greater role in the global community's efforts to combat climate change. Hopefully public transportation projects of this sort will continue to spread throughout all major cities within the Kingdom whether manifested in the form of a high speed train, light rail, subway or even a more efficient bus system. Within the very populous cities, public transportation projects of this magnitude could serve several million passengers per year while alleviating pressure from the roads and simultaneously decreasing the Kingdom's carbon footprint. If these types of projects are implemented throughout the country, then perhaps one day it could proudly sit at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change table as an entity that fought a great battle in the war against climate change.
