5 SAUDI G20/S20
KAUST SUPPORTS SAUDI ARABIA AND IS LEAD ORGANIZATION
Leading the world’s scientific communities and advancing global policy In September 2020, KAUST hosted scientific communities from the world’s largest economies to propose science-driven solutions to the most pressing challenges. Placing the university firmly on the map, the high-profile Science 20 (S20) meetings of major nations provided KAUST with a unique opportunity to publicize its research and showcase its talents among global peers. This year the S20 was led by KAUST under the chairmanship of Dr. Anas Alfaris of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. The S20 is one of the official G20 engagement groups. Its purpose is to develop specific recommendations and implementable actions for policymakers of the G20, the world’s largest economies. The theme of this edition was “Foresight: Science for Navigating Critical Transitions”, with major sub-themes including the future of health, the circular economy, the digital revolution and connecting the dots. The S20 is composed of task forces that formulate detailed policy papers. These proposals form the basis of the S20 Communiqué that is officially presented to the G20 leaders for consideration. The S20 Communiqué comprises a list of consensus-based recommendations from the national science academy of each G20 member state.
This year’s S20 Summit was a virtual event, hosted by KAUST in September. S20 discussions and task force meetings were held throughout 2020. During virtual S20 international workshops, KAUST President Dr. Tony Chan emphasised the importance of education to ensure that the promise of future technology is fulfilled, as is global collaboration and science’s accountability to society. The Leaders’ Summit of the G20 was held in November 2020 in Riyadh as a virtual gathering among world leaders. Two major recommendations pioneered by Saudi Arabia, with the support of KAUST researchers, were included in the final G20 Communiqué. These included the launch of a global coral reef protection initiative and the endorsement of a new paradigm for managing global carbon emissions, known as the circular carbon economy (CCE). Recognising the need to conserve marine environments, the G20 launched the Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform to conserve and aid recovery of coral reefs globally. The initiative includes a commitment to increase global coral reef recovery by 10%, and KAUST will be the central node for the undertaking.
