Secretary General of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) Jamal Al- Loughani affirmed Thursday the importance of cooperating with countries that have great expertise in energy to reduce carbon emission. This came in Al-Loughani's statement to KUNA at the end of the Symposium on pathways to reduce carbon emission in petroleum downstream industries, organized by OPAEC in collaboration with Saudi Ministry of Energy and Japan Cooperation Center for Petroleum and Sustainable Energy (JCCP) in Riyadh. Al-Loughani said that such seminars are an opportunity to exchange ideas and recommendations and present innovative solutions that contribute to reducing carbon emissions for the downstream petroleum industries, in addition to enhancing cooperation between participating institutions and keep pace with global trends towards climate change. The symposium held discussion that explored options for reducing carbon emissions in the petroleum industries and reviewed projects being implemented to enhan ce the role of the petroleum industry in the field of producing sustainable, low-carbon fuels, improving energy efficiency, as well as opportunities for using renewable energy and hydrogen. Al-Loughani explained that the organization will continue to hold seminars and workshops that will benefit workers in the ministries of energy. The symposium was held in Riyadh, Tuesday and Wednesday, with more than 150 participating institutions specialized in energy and sustainability, research institutes and universities in OAPEC member states, in addition to many Japanese companies specialized in sustainable energy technology. This symposium was based on a memorandum of understanding signed between OAPEC and Japan in 2011 regarding organizing seminars and workshops and preparing studies and research related to the downstream petroleum industry. Source: Kuwait News Agency