Meet The Saudi Prince Who's Turning The Lights On Climate Change

Saudi Arabia is the biggest oil producer in the world. It’s reserves are estimated to be 268 billion barrels, or one-fifth of the world's total oil reserves. Burning more than around one quarter of the current economic reserves will release sufficient greenhouse gases to create a serious risk of catastrophic climate change. At the present rate of fossil fuel use, we will consume this amount in 40 years or less.

How do you stop the industry that brought wealth and power to your country? How do you convince the hundreds of millionaire businessman to change for sustainability?

To reverse the effects of climate change and evolve into ecological societies are the tasks that Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed set himself as life goals. The prince moved from owning a collection of 200 luxury cars, posing on yachts and dressing in silk and gold thread, to driving an eco-friendly automobile, buying carbon offsets for all his flights to reduce the environmental footprint of his business, selling all his stakes in the oil and gas industry, shifting towards more sustainable operations and even adopting a vegan diet.

The father of two, who now is on a journey to awaken climate responsibility in the world’s biggest leaders, lists his daughters as his greatest inspiration.

"If I leave knowing that they will say, 'Daddy did everything he can for us and for the world,' then I’ll be a happy guy," he says. "I need to leave something positive for them, and only having a negative outlook on the world will rub off on them."