Episode #16: Climate Leaders 101: Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and his Saudi Vision 2030 to address climate and economic concerns

MBS’s commitment to renewable energy has been seen by some as a way to secure long-term economic stability and reduce the Saudi reliance on oil revenue. In this episode of our 2023 Climate Leaders 101, we discuss climate leader Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (MBS) with IE students, Alisa and Sofia. We begin by the basics, looking at the role of the royal family in Saudi politics and how this has affected MBS’s leadership style. This episode focuses on Saudi Arabia’s oil dependence and the extent to which this dependence both consolidates MBS’s power and funds his attempts at diversifying Saudi economic activity. We comment on the main policy MBS has launched to combat climate change, his Vision 2030, of which includes NEOM City. While the impacts are yet to be measured, Alisa and Sofia discuss whether Mohamed bin Salama Al Saud IS a climate ...