Saudis Worried That Oil May Become "Victim" Of Environmental Policy - AFP

OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia has expressed concern that oil could become a victim of "selective" environment policies and called for striking a balance between a cleaner environment and development. The kingdom, whose economy heavily relies on oil income, said the use of advanced technology to carry out environment-friendly projects is the best solution to achieve economic development without harming the climate.

"We are concerned that some environment-related decisions, which some countries are trying to impose, could reduce global consumption of oil," Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said.

"This could hamper our economic development programmes because of our heavy reliance on oil exports," Nuaimi told an international conference on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which opened Tuesday in Riyadh. "We are trying to (convince) the world to adopt positive environment decisions that safeguard the environment and contribute to global economic development."

Introduced more than eight years ago, CDM is a part of the Kyoto Protocol that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of mainly carbon-based activities by establishing environment-friendly projects using advanced technology.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Saudi_Wary_Of_Green_Policies_To_Reduce_Oil_Consumption_999.html

Let me get my violin...

:eyes:

Just weeping hot tears for Saudi Aramco.

:eyes:

"decisions that ensure everybody continues to pay OPEC exorbitant prices for our oil"

Any environmental decision that gets in the way of business-as-usual is considered "negative" or "irresponsible"

Climate Change is already heading into some disastrous proportions. The day we stop burning ALL fossil fuels is a start towards the day we return the atmosphere gas balance to where it belongs.

It may never happen. Current projections all have the climate crashing before we get the smarts to stop adding to the problem.

... it's not like you to post things from The Onion!

:P

> "We are concerned that some environment-related decisions, which some
> countries are trying to impose, could reduce global consumption of oil,"
> Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said.

I just can't get it into my head that a government minister - even of a
country as exploitive & backward as Saudi - could come out with this.

Let's see:
"Conference chairman Mohammad al-Sabban, an advisor to the Saudi oil minister, said the kingdom was keen to ensure that "oil does not become a victim of selective policies being adopted by certain countries," a reference to industrialized nations."

A victon of 'selective policies' How about the whole world (including SA btw) being a victim to the results of burning all that oil? Not to mention victims of being so depending on a single source of energy?

""The solution is through developing the technological alternatives... We believe that CDM provides the required balance between energy, development and environment," Sabban said."

A balance? How do you balance anything against the fundamental need of humans and ALL LIFE on the planet for a healthy environment?

:eyes: