India, China need to develop clean energy solutions: Obama

Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 29 (PTI) Reiterating the need to reduce
dependence on oil as opposed to other sources of energy like
wind and solar, the US President Barack Obama has said that
India and China, countries having huge population, need to
rapidly develop clean energy solutions.

"If everybody is dependent solely on oil, as opposed to
energy sources like wind and solar. If we are not able to
figure out ways to sequester carbon and that would allow us to
use coal in a non- polluting way. If we don't diversify our
energy sources, then all of us are going to be in trouble,"
Obama told reporters Thursday in response to a question on
his meeting with the Saudi King and US's effort to reduce
dependence on foreign oil.

"Our goal has to be is to advance a clean-energy
solution, in this country, that can strengthen our economy,
put people back to work, diversify our energy sources," he
said.

"Interestingly enough, you are seeing the Saudis make
significant investments, both in their own country and outside
of their country, in clean energy as well. I think they
(Saudis) recognise that, you know, we have got a finite supply
of oil. There are going to be a whole host of countries, like
China and India that have huge populations, need to develop
rapidly," Obama said.

Ever since becoming the US President early this year,
Obama has been emphasising that the key to global energy
solutions and climate change lies in the hands of countries
like India and China, which are the two most populated
countries of the world and are rapidly developing.

"Saudi Arabia has been an important strategic partner in
providing us with our critical energy needs. We appreciate
that. It's a commercial relationship as well as a strategic
relationship. I don't think that it's in Saudi Arabia's
interests or our interests to have a situation in which our
economy is dependent on, or is disrupted constantly by huge
spikes in energy prices," he said

"It is in nobody's interests internationally for us to
continue to be so heavily dependent on fossil fuels that we
continue to create the greenhouse gases that warm the planet.
So in those discussions, I will be very honest with King
Abdullah, with whom I have developed a good relationship,
indicating to him that we are not going to be eliminating our
need for oil imports in the immediate future -- that's not our
goal," Obama said. PTI LKJ
RKM