Minister of petroleum and mineral resources Eng Ali al-Naimi led the Saudi delegation to the 13th conference of the member parties of the UN agreement on climate changes and the third conference of the member parties of Kyoto agreement, held in Bali, Indonesia. Speaking on the occasion, al-Naimi hoped that the conference of climate changes would yield positive results. He noted that the Kingdom is looking for continuation of negotiations about adherence to Kyoto protocol. He reiterated the readiness of the Kingdom to work for ensuring the success of signing an international agreement by the end of 2009 taking into account the interests of all parties notably the developing countries. We are ready to shoulder our responsibility as regards confronting the climate changes within the framework of the international efforts, he said. Al-Naimi expressed anxiety for the failure of some countries to adhere to their commitments within the framework of the protocol. Criticizing levying heavy taxes on the petroleum products, the minister noted that the trend of avoiding consumption of fossil fuel as a way for confronting the climate changes does not constitute a practical alternative for decreasing emission of gases. He added that the international community could continue in using fossil fuel but in a clean manner that protects the climate from pollution and eases burdens on the international economy and on the economies of the countries that depend to a great extent on exporting petroleum. Al-Naimi said the international community should exert further efforts in the field of scientific and technological research in all domains and work for decreasing gas emission, and added that it is an essential matter for the international community to benefit from the natural resources and the big petroleum reserves and other sources of fossil energy for realizing sustainable development. The Kingdom pledged at the third OPEC summit held in Riyadh last November to establish a fund for researches pertaining to energy, environment and climate changes, and allocated $300 million for that purpose, he elaborated adding that 'as each of Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE will contribute with $150 million to the fund, then its capital will increase to $750 million. He underscored the importance of broadening the scope of cooperation at the international level in the field of researches pertaining to usage of clean petroleum.
