Jeddah : The world's energy powers embarked on a new level of dialogue to rein in runaway oil prices at an emergency meeting in this Red Sea city, but were unlikely to come up with a quick fix. While British prime minister Gordon Brown said there was a consensus that oil prices were too high, host Saudi Arabia vowed to pump more oil in response to consumer countries' requests. But, he said that alone would not be enough to calm a market driven by an array of factors.

The time has come to act fast to replace, over a reasonable period of time, our dependence on imported crude oil. M. PERIASAMY Jatropha, a plant that can be used to produce bio-diesel, is cultivated on the Karunya University campus in Coimbatore. A file picture.