Environment & Energy | Saturday 19 March, 2016 12:56 am |

Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi highlighted Saudi Arabia’s efforts in promoting research and studies to boost renewable energy at a conference in Berlin.
Studies by the Kingdom and other countries into alternative energy are looking at ways to shift from oil and gas to renewables, he said.
He, however, estimated that consumers will still be burning fossil fuels for at least another 50 years.
He said: “There is no way in the next 50 years that the world will be able to give up extracting the fuels, Al-Naimi said, adding that “by the way, they are not that bad.”
Saudi Arabia is focusing on renewable-energy sources such as solar power in preparation for a post-oil global economy, Al-Naimi said. 
He said: “We are looking forward to attract experience of advanced countries in this field and forge beneficial deals with them and I’m most optimistic that German companies would join this club to face this challenge.”
“I don’t think there is a more ideal country for renewables than Saudi Arabia,” given its abundant sunshine, available land and plentiful sand, which is needed for making solar panels, Al-Naimi said. 
Saudi Arabia is focusing on ways to capture or process emissions of carbon dioxide, Al-Naimi said, arguing that attempts to abandon hydrocarbon fuels now are impractical. The Kingdom is collecting the waste gas and converting it into petrochemicals.
The minister stressed that Saudi Arabia undertakes a prominent role in enhancing the special value of renewable energy.