British PM lauds Saudi Arabias NEOM city as a greener future

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised Saudi Arabia’s NEOM city which represents “a greener future” for the world, Al Arabiya reported on Saturday.

While thanking Saudi Arabia’s King Salman for presiding over the G20 summit amid the coronavirus pandemic, Johnson said that he would have liked to visit the city of NEOM.

Johnson described Neom as “a city built on fossil fuels” but powered by clean energy, adding that NEOM’s distinctive climate helps to provide the city with sustainable energy.

In remarks ahead of the meeting, Johnson appealed to leaders of the other nations which make up the G20 group of major economies to honour their promise to do “whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic and protect lives and livelihoods”.

The British prime minister will also use Sunday’s session to call on those leaders yet to make net-zero commitments to make the same pledge, just under a month before Britain co-hosts the Climate Ambition Summit on Dec. 12.

“The G20 committed in March to do ‘whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic and protect lives and livelihoods’. As we meet this weekend, we must hold ourselves to account for that promise,” he said before addressing the summit.