Emir of Kuwait Stresses his Country's Commitment to Reduce Emissions

Doha, December 04 (QNA) - HH the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has stressed on his country's commitment to reduce emissions through rehabilitation of its oil and industrial installations. Addressing the opening session of the high-level meetings of 18th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-18) today in Doha, The Emir said: "In contribution to the emission reduction the State of Kuwait made great voluntary and thoughtful strides, according to available resources, in the rehabilitation of its oil and industrial installations, where the oil sector adopted a new strategy based on scientific and economic grounds that aim to reduce emissions, as well as setting mechanisms for improving energy efficiency, and the use of clean technology for fossil energy, without prejudice to its fundamental interests and obligations in it's the development of clean industry." The Emir added "in the field of renewable energy, the State of Kuwait attached great concern to the diversification of its energy sources, where the concerned entities stated the executive phases of an ambitious plan for using wind and solar energy aiming to raise the percentage of using this energy to 1 percent of the total energy usage in Kuwait in 2015, and up to 15 percent in 2030." He said: "I am pleased to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and deep appreciation to HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, government, and people of the State of Qatar, for the good organization of this important international conference, held under the umbrella of the United Nations, and the great efforts exerted in order to make it a success and to achieve its desired objectives." The Emir of Kuwait also congratulated HE Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah for his selection as a Chairman of this conference, saying "I am confident that the wisdom and experience he enjoys shall contribute to the success of this conference, and reaching the desired objectives and results as anticipated by our states." His Highness added "I am also pleased to take this opportunity to express to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, and the executive head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Christiana Vigiris and her assistants my sincere thanks for their work for the well prepared for this conference, which deserves our appreciation and praise." It is our pleasure to see this high-level international participation in this conference, which reflects the great importance that the international community attaches to the issue of climate change, which has become an obsession for all the states and people of the world, he noted. The State of Kuwait, he said, supports the efforts of the United Nations in the fight against climate change, through its active participation in the ongoing negotiations aimed at reducing the negative effects of this phenomenon, based on the principles and provisions contained in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and their effective and sustainable implementation as the legal binding instrument and the basis for international cooperation in this field. (QNA)