Environment & Energy | Friday 1 July, 2016 6:59 am |

Khalid Al-Falih, minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, called upon the international community to work together in order to maintain a sufficient and reliable supply of energy while reducing emissions causing greenhouse gases to the lowest possible level, while pointing out challenges faced by the international community in order to balance the goals of economy, energy and environment.

Al-Falih also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s efforts to promote preservation of the environment. During the ministerial meeting of the energy ministers of Group of Twenty (G20) in Beijing, Al-Falih said: “The international community must work towards ensuring that all the world’s population, which is growing, obtain clean energy. Therefore, the world will still need to use all forms of energy to meet this growing demand.”

“In light of various technical and economic challenges faced by the energy alternatives, we have to realize that fossil fuel will remain the main core to meet the global demand for energy for the coming decades,” he added.
The minister provided a plan based on five areas to meet global goals in the fields of economy, energy and environment combining investment, technology, energy efficiency, clean natural gas and renewable energy.

“This plan aims to obtain an adequate supply of energy. We have to facilitate investments in all energy sources, without discrimination, including investments in technology to make all energy sources environmentally friendly. Innovation and technology must be strategic pillars to reduce the environmental impacts of the energy usage as well as focusing on energy efficiency. We have to take advantage of cleaner natural gas in order to achieve a significant reduction in carbon emissions,” Al-Falih said.

He added that the international community should develop a policy based on voluntary participation and contributions of all states within a framework of achieving fundamental goals of economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Al-Falih also highlighted the Kingdom’s energy policy ensuring its continuation in supplying the global markets with energy.

Saudi Arabia also concentrates its efforts in the field of developing energy to obtain cleaner gas. The Kingdom also applies an ambitious program regarding efficiency of energy consumption in the Kingdom in the fields of transportation, housing and commercial buildings and industrial areas in order to reduce the intensity of energy consumption.

The Kingdom also plans to pump more investments in the field of renewable energy, particularly in the field of solar power.

The G20 meeting of the energy ministers is focused on a number of issues pertaining to energy, natural gas, climate change and sustainable development.

The minister also held a number of bilateral meetings with heads of delegations participating in the G20 meeting, including China, the United States, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany. During the meetings, bilateral relations and issues of common interest were discussed.