RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, has plans to become 100 percent powered by renewable and low-carbon forms of energy, according to Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies and former ambassador to the United Kingdom and the United States. Addressing the Global Economic Symposium here, Prince Turki said that the Kingdom was moving ahead with investment in renewable energy, nuclear power and other alternatives to fossil fuels and that it could use its vast oil reserves for other goods, such as plastics and polymers. “Oil is more precious for us underground than as a fuel source,” he said. “If we can get to the point where we can replace fossil fuels and use oil to produce other products that are useful, that would be very good for the world. I wish that may be in my lifetime, but I don't think it will be.” Joss Garman, political director of Greenpeace, said: “It speaks volumes that a Saudi prince can see the benefits of switching to clean energy sources when [UK chancellor] George Osborne seemingly cannot, but Saudi Arabia will only truly be a green economy when it leaves its fossil fuels in the ground.” Saudi Arabia's energy use is almost entirely from fossil fuels at present, with about two-thirds coming from oil and the remainder from gas. Energy use per person within the Kingdom is also high by world standards, because energy prices are kept so low, reported the Guardian Friday. Prince Turki, however, said that the Kingdom has vast potential for using solar power. “The cost of solar energy is now 15 percent of what it was 20 years ago,” he noted. Saudi Arabia has also signed memoranda of understanding with Argentina over nuclear energy. One of the other potentially important technologies for Saudi Arabia is carbon capture and storage, as depleted oil fields could be used as storage for compressed carbon dioxide, but it has so far made little progress. Prince Turki said the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology should be seen as an international effort rather than the responsibility of single countries. Nebjsa Nakicenovic, deputy chief of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, said CCS was likely to be a vital technology around the world. On renewables, Nakicenovic said the world should aim to generate 30 percent of energy from sustainable renewable sources by 2030. That would represent more than a doubling of current renewable energy usage, because although on paper about 15 percent of energy now comes from renewable sources, this includes a large amount of biomass – mostly wood, dung and other waste – burned in developing countries. Much of this is unsustainable, and requires a significant use of resources in foraging for firewood. “So [the target] is very ambitious, but doable,” he said. – Agencies
