Algeria targets 31% emissions cut by 2035 with int'l support: Premier

Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb said Thursday that Algeria aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 31% by 2035 if it receives international support while setting an unconditional reduction target of 14% using domestic resources.

Addressing the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye’s Antalya, Ghrieb said climate change was already affecting Algeria through desertification, recurring droughts and expanding forest fires, threatening the country’s water and food security.

He said Algeria had begun “implementing the first phase of a national program to generate 15,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2035,” alongside adopting a “national hydrogen strategy and measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce gas flaring and methane emissions.”

Ghrieb also highlighted efforts to protect water security through seawater desalination and wastewater reuse, as well as the revival of the Green Dam project to combat desertification.

He stressed that a “fair energy transition required international climate financing, technology transfer and capacity-building,” warning that the scale of Algeria’s needs “exceeded its national resources.”

“There is no contradiction between development and climate action, provided the transition is smooth and gradual and receives the necessary support,” he said.

COP31, hosted by Türkiye in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya from Nov. 9 to 20, brings together world leaders, government officials and climate negotiators to address climate change, with discussions focusing on emissions reductions, adaptation and climate finance.