Kingdom commits to daily crude capacity
Saudi Arabia to refresh national climate pledge
Carbon exchange announcement expected

RIYADH, Oct 29 Reuters Saudi Arabia is committed to maintaining crude capacity at 12.3 million barrels per day, Energy Minister Prince Abulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in Riyadh, he said the world39;s largest oil exporter would maintain its crude targets while also pursuing its climate aims.

We will monetize every molecule of energy this land has, period, Prince Abdulaziz said. That policy would be carried out hand in hand with other goals, such as emission reduction, he added.

We are committed to maintaining 12.3 million barrels per day of crude capacity and we are proud of that, he said.

He was speaking ahead of an announcement, expected on Tuesday, about a carbon credit exchange involving the kingdom39;s sovereign wealth fund.

Saudi Arabia backed a deal at last year39;s U.N. climate conference, COP28, giving countries more leeway to follow their own pathways to cleaner sources of energy.

More than 100 countries had lobbied at that summit, held in the United Arab Emirates, for the phase out of fossil fuels, but faced opposition from the Saudiled oil producer group OPEC, which argued that the world can cut emissions without shunning specific fuels.

We are not ashamed of our record when it comes to emissions, Prince Abdulaziz told the FII conference. We are proud of it,…