Nov. 5--KUWAIT -- It is critical for Kuwait to convert its oil wealth into soil health, stated Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, Director General of the Energy and Resources Institute India (TERI) while his remarks to a media gathering at the Indian Embassy on Tuesday. Dr Pachauri, who is also chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Program, was the keynote speaker at the Alternative Energy Applications Conference hel d in Kuwait from Nov 1 to 6 and spoke on the subject, 'Towards a Sustainable Energy Future.'

Internationally recognized as a leading global thinker and leader of research in the field of climate change and environment, Dr Pachauri on behalf of IPCC is also co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with former US vice-president Al Gore.

While addressing the media in the presence of Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra, he sought a better future for the human race in the face of the challenging phenomenon of climate change. Carrying a powerful message, he pointed out the urgent need for countries of this region to improve their soil quality and urged them to use their oil wealth to develop their soil health as a means of securing their future generations.

The UN's top climate scientist said that the region had a lot of solar and wind energy and this was another alternative to sustainable energy for the region. He said biotechnology can greatly help in both resuscitation and regeneration of air, soil and water and technological innovations could help desalinate water as well, which is a scarce resource in the region.

He applauded Kuwait's initiative in holding a conference on Alternative Energy Applications which showed the urgency to seek changes for the better. "It shows their commitment and the wisdom of the leadership," he pointed out. Climate change awareness has been a great challenge and Dr Pachauri has been tirelessly working to reverse this man-made climate change and lay foundations for the measures that are needed to counter such a change.

His own institute TERI has developed a number of solutions to help soil regeneration and of particular interest to Kuwait will be the mechanism to contain oil spills, the oil zapper. The oil zapper has been successfully tested on a small swath of land in Kuwait that was contaminated by oil sludge.

He said that the future would lie in renewable energy, especially solar energy as it is a clean energy with huge, unlimited potential. Regarding nuclear energy, he pointed out that it had limited potential in terms of usage as an entire network of institutions had to be in place for safe and controlled use. Besides, nuclear waste can only be stored and not eliminated.

Replying on the importance of oil in the coming future, he said that it will always play a major role and just because alternate energy sources were used, oil would not lose its value. There was an urgent need to find sustainable substitutes.

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