RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Spanish biologist Carlos Duarte had been at a Saudi royal palace until three o'clock in the morning, waiting for the country's most powerful man.
Finally in his hotel room, Duarte awoke hours later and noticed an alert on his smartphone screen. It was the palace: He and the other scientists and officials at the meeting on sustainable development should return immediately. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was ready for them.
It might seem improbable that a highly respected marine biologist committed to solving climate change is advising the leaders of the world's foremost petro-state, renowned for its intransigence over the years at international climate talks. But contradictions abound in Saudi Arabia.
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