Bids open for first utility-scale wind farm in Saudi Arabia
$500m Dumat Al Jandal wind project forms part of Saudi goal to have 10% renewable energy by 2023.
Middle East
Iraq’s civilian death toll drops by nearly 80 percent
Iraq saw an 80% drop in civilian deaths in the first 5 months of 2018 compared to the same period last year, according to reports by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Iraq Body Count database.
U.A.E. makes major strides in education, gender equality, health, and social progress
The total female workforce in the UAE in 2015 was 882,000 compared to just 10,000 in 1975.
Saudi Arabia issues driving licences to women for first time in decades
Saudi Arabia has issued driving licences to women for the first time in decades just weeks before a ban on female drivers is lifted.
Iran raises minimum wage in concession to workers
Following intense tripartite negotiations, the Iranian government, employers and unions agreed to increase the country’s minimum wage by 19.8%, from 9.29 million rials ($245) per month to 11.14 million rials ($294.50).
Saudi Arabia and SoftBank plan $200 billion solar project, the world’s largest
The plan envisions 200GW of solar capacity in Saudi Arabia by 2030. The venture may cost $200 billion and add 100,000 jobs.
Dubai has the world’s most ambitious plan to turn waste into energy
It is expected to process up to two million tons of solid waste every year this is about 60 percent of the waste produced in the city.
Saudi Arabia plans up to $7 billion of renewable energy projects this year
Tenders will be issued this year for eight projects totaling 4.125 gigawatts of capacity, Turki Mohammed Al Shehri, head of the kingdom’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office, said.
Turkey launches $11bn energy efficiency plan
Turkey aims for clean energy projects to amount to 30 percent of its total installed capacity by 2023.
Syria signs Paris climate agreement
Syria’s decision brings to 197 the number of nations signed up to the landmark 2015 pact on global warming, the first in more than 20 years of UN negotiations to bind both developed and developing countries to a clear limit on temperature rises.