Riyadh – Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources called on the international community to join efforts in order to provide sufficient and reliable energy to the entire world population and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to the lowest possible levels.

Speaking on Thursday at the G20 Energy Ministerial Meeting in Beijing, Minister Khalid Al-Falih said that international community was facing challenges to balance the goals of economy, energy and environment.

He also said the international community should ensure that the entire world population has access to renewable energy.

Al-Falih also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s efforts to preserve the environment.

“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 said.

The minister presented a plan based on five pillars to meet global goals in the fields of economy, energy and environment. The plan combines investment, technology, energy efficiency, clean natural gas and renewable energy.

Al-Falih noted that the plan aimed at providing an adequate supply of energy by facilitating investments in all energy sources. He also stressed the importance of innovation and technology as strategic pillars to reduce the environmental impacts of energy use. The other two major pillars according to Al-Falih are promoting competencies in the use of energy and taking advantage of clean natural gas in order to achieve a significant reduction in carbon emissions.

The energy minister added that the international community should adopt a strategy based on voluntary participation and contributions of all states within the framework of achieving fundamental goals of economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Al-Falih also highlighted the Kingdom’s energy policy and commitment to continue supplying the global market with energy.

Saudi Arabia is currently looking towards developing the production of cleaner gas by strengthening cooperation with international research centers.

The Kingdom is also working on ambitious programs to boost efficiency of energy consumption in the fields of transportation, housing and industrial areas in order to reduce energy consumption in line with the goals of the National Transformation Program within Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

The National Transformation Program also seeks to boost 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.