Climate activists should not just push for a reduction in fossil fuel use but should look “at the bigger picture”. This is what Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais of the oil cartel OPEC said during an energy conference in Cairo.
According to him, “all parties must work together towards an energy transition that is methodical, inclusive and helps to secure energy security for all.”
According to Al-Ghais, the oil sector has been suffering from chronic underinvestment for years. Worldwide, $ 500 billion must be added annually until 2045, says the Kuwaiti oil executive. Several oil companies, such as Shell and BP, have indicated that they will not continue to increase their investments in green energy, and BP even lowered its climate targets.
Al-Ghais sees the UN climate conference COP28 to be held in the United Arab Emirates later this year as a “new opportunity to move towards inclusive, sustainable and consensus-based solutions to climate change”.
According to the OPEC boss, oil demand will rise to almost 102 million barrels per day this year, more than the world used before the corona pandemic. After that, the oil demand will continue to increase, reaching 110 million barrels per day in 2025.
Al-Ghais states that OPEC and partners such as Russia, also referred to as OPEC+, are determined to keep the oil market stable. However, Russia announced this week that it would produce less oil in response to Western sanctions. As a result, Saudi Arabia and other major OPEC countries would not want to pump more oil to absorb that, which has caused the oil price to rise sharply in recent days.
