Muscat – Oman on Sunday reaffirmed its commitment to achieve its net zero emissions target by 2050 and unveiled the sultanate’s National Net Zero Plan and an ambitious green hydrogen strategy, which targets investments worth RO54bn and creating 70,000 permanent jobs.

The sultanate’s new climate commitment and National Net Zero Plan were announced by Salim bin Nasser al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals, at a press conference.

Under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Oman has committed to reaching net zero emissions in 2050, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement’s objectives of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels.

To lead its transition towards a green economy, His Majesty has mandated the creation of Oman Sustainability Centre, which will ensure the implementation of the National Net Zero Plan. The centre will be the leading body undertaking the supervision and follow-up plans and programmes of carbon neutrality.

Based on Sunday’s announcement, net zero will now be one of the most important components of Oman’s national sectoral strategies for industry, urban planning, energy, transportation and more.

Addressing the press conference, Aufi said the route to net zero targets is an opportunity for Oman to create economic value, increase industrial competitiveness and attract investments to help diversify and strengthen the economy.
“Oman is committed to decarbonise (its economy) and help the world decarbonise,” he said.

According to the government’s strategy to achieve net zero targets, development of a green hydrogen economy is at the heart of the sultanate’s decarbonisation efforts and energy security objectives.

To lead Oman’s ambitious green hydrogen strategy, the government has established Hydrogen Oman (HYDROM), a fully owned autonomous subsidiary of Energy Development Oman.

“With the abundant renewable energy resources Oman is blessed with and appropriate structuring of the sector via the creation of Hydrogen Oman as directed by His Majesty, Oman is positioned as one of the most attractive nations to produce green hydrogen competitively and on a large scale,” Aufi said.

The sultanate has set an ambition to become one of the largest green hydrogen producers and exporters globally, targeting production of 1mn tonnes by 2030.

Oman’s new ambitious sustainability initiatives come a few weeks before COP27 in Egypt.

Faiza al Harthi, head of energy, environment and natural resources priority support at Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit, said, “The vision is to create effective, balanced, and resilient ecosystems to protect and sustain Oman’s natural resources in support of the national economy. This will be done by setting targets, a measurement mechanism and a follow-up methodology for the initiatives and projects helping to achieve net zero emissions.”