Chairing a session on climate change on the second day of the Ministerial Council meeting ahead of the two-day OPEC summit that was held in Riyadh recently, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al Naimi said, “since fossil fuels are going to be around for some time, we need to develop technology to reduce carbon emissions.”

“We are all called upon to address the climate change concern and find a balance that is possible, comprehensive and cost-effective solution. Saudi Arabia is willing to participate in any such project,” he added.

Al Naimi said that the kingdom anticipated the impact of environmental pollution when it established the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran and was going ahead with the setting up of a world class King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2009. He emphasised that both these universities address the challenges stemming from environmental concerns. “As for the growing skills shortage in oil industry, Saudi Aramco had sponsored over 10,000 college graduates who are pursuing higher studies in petroleum,” he said.

Delegates also voiced concern over the shortage of skilled manpower in the oil industry, which together with lack of investment in the downstream oil industry was exerting pressure on oil prices. And then there are factors beyond OPEC’s control that determine the price of oil. Subroto, former secretary-general of OPEC, underlined the skills shortage in the energy sector.

He called for greater efforts to address this together with reliance on technological resources to tackle problems associated with climate change. He said the international financial market had played a useful role by funding environment-friendly energy projects. He said that because of the high cost of oil, the Indonesian government had to subsidise it to ease the financial burden on the people.

At another level, the government was trying to tap alternative sources of energy, such as ethanol, to try to cool off the oil market.