(Updates to add background)
RIYADH (Thomson Financial) - Saudi Arabia is to put aside 300 mln usd to fund research into climate change research, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah told dignitaries at the inaugural session of the Third OPEC Summit here.
'The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has earmarked 300 mln usd to form the locus of this programme to fund research (into) the climate and the environment,' he said.
OPEC ministers assembled in the run-up to the summit have expressed support for carbon capture and storage, an emerging technology to trap carbon dioxide and store it underground.
'Protecting the planet' is one of three headline themes of the OPEC summit, a surprising focus for a group of oil producers whose wealth depends on their exports of fossil fuels. d.sheppard@thomson.com; jan.harvey@thomson.com am/am COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.