Saudi Oil Minister addresses Beijing Conference on Climate

Beijing, November 07, SPA -- A high-level conference on 'climate
change' opened here Friday, with participants from nearly 100
governments, international and non-governmental organizations
presenting views and proposing measures on technology development and
transfer in response to climate change.


In a speech at the Conference's opening session, Ali Ibrahim
Al-Nuaimi, Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said
that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the convening of the
conference, which is being held on an appropriate time to address
important issues such as the development and transfer of technology
and other matters related to the treatment of potential climate
change and adaptation.

"We look forward to achieve the desired results. We are meeting at a
crucial time in an attempt to find options to address challenges of
climate change and adequate supplies of energy and sustainable
economic development, and we believe firmly that the technical
options as one of the most important factors, will be helping us meet
these challenges.

"When we look at history, we find that technology played a pivotal
role in enhancing human conditions through centuries. It made for us
train, cars, aircraft, computers and the Internet. It also reduced
distances between countries and civilizations. In the area of the
environment itself, technology helped to reduce the technical-exhaust
emissions in new cars by more than 90% since the invention of the
car," he added.

"We feel that technology must take its rightful place in
providing value solutions to the challenges of the climate change. I
think ,we only hit the crust with regard to technology designed to
mitigate the effects of climate change, research and development and
the innovation in this area needs much more attention than it is
nowadays, including, but not limited to, enhancing the efficiency of
energy significantly in many applications, future types of cleaner
fuel, both conventional and non-convetional, and many ways to
separate and store carbon, in addition to a number of techniques
which are not yet emerged."

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