The head of the world’s largest energy company urged the world on Monday to accept the “harsh reality” that oil and natural gas are here to stay for a long time and that consumption of both energy sources is likely to increase, at least for some time to come. . Ten or two years.
Speaking at an energy conference in Houston, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said the environmental group’s ambitious plans will continue to grow as the world continues to consume record amounts of fossil fuels each year. He said it had ended in failure.
“We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas and instead invest in a way that properly reflects realistic demand expectations,” he said.
Nasser said oil consumption could reach a new record of 104 million barrels per day this year and continue to rise until 2045.
“All of this reinforces the view that peak oil and gas is unlikely to happen anytime soon, let alone in 2030,” he said. “Nobody’s betting their farm on that.”
Nasser’s comments come just months after countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, reached a new climate agreement that calls for, among other things, a “transition away from fossil fuels in our energy systems” to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. It was announced later.
After the deal was passed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December, Sultan Al Jaber, chairman of the two-week summit in Dubai, said the new deal would “put the world in the right direction”. .
The agreement is considered a landmark as it is the first time countries have agreed to explicitly address the need to move away from fossil fuels and oil, natural gas and coal to curb global warming. Ta.
Latest World Energy Outlook Report The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that a surge in demand for electric vehicles and clean energy technologies will dramatically change the way the world supplies electricity by the end of the decade.
The report also includes a stark warning that stronger policies are needed to limit fossil fuel emissions to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century.
At the S&P global energy conference CERAWeek in Houston on Monday, CEOs of other oil companies also warned that the world’s transition to low-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen will take time.
“Currently, we are not on track to achieve net zero by 2050,” said ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods. “One of the challenges here is that society doesn’t want to reduce emissions. “But no one wants to pay for it.”
Around the world, investment in renewable energy is outpacing the amount spent on growing the oil and gas industry. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm emphasized this point in her speech about the nation’s clean energy revolution. She appealed to members of the oil belt to take action against climate change.
“Consumers want change, investors want change, and we in this room have the power to manage this transition responsibly and with urgency,” she said.
The differences between Granholm and Nasser are significant and represent “two different realities,” American Petroleum Institute Executive Vice President Amanda Ebersole said in an interview with CBC News on the sidelines of CERAWeek. Told.
“We want to get back to the fact of what the world needs in terms of energy demand and make sure we get that done in a way that produces affordable, reliable and clean energy.” she stated.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan struck a rather conciliatory tone, criticizing the growing polarization of energy.
“Is it oil and gas or solar and wind? It’s all of them, and we need them in abundance,” Sawan said.
The International Energy Agency predicts global oil demand will continue to rise this year, but updated its outlook last week to predict some supply shortages. The report pushed oil prices above $80 per barrel.
Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, said: “The interesting truth is that cheaper alternatives to oil and gas already exist, such as transportation, home heating and cooling, and power generation, to replace them with other uses.” It’s about inventing new methods.” on mail.
“The only question is whether we can transition away from fossil fuels fast enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, and how we can support workers and communities in oil-producing regions through the transition. Thing.”
