Yesterday, international decision-makers and experts in the energy sector discussed the impact of the current volatility in energy markets on the race towards reaching net-zero carbon emissions by the middle of the current century.
This came in the latest meetings of the “CEOs’ Roundtable” held by Al-Attiyah Foundation under the title “Do volatile energy markets hinder the path of energy transition?”
The panellists were Stephen Thompson, Director of Natural Gas Advisory at Poten & Partners; Wayne Brian, Director of European Gas Research at Refinitiv; Dr. Valerie Marcel, Associate Fellow at Chatham House; friendship. Jan Braun, Senior Expert at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
His Excellency Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Al-Attiyah Foundation and former Minister of Energy and Industry, noted during the meeting that the issue discussed during the round table meeting came at the right time, because it affects international oil and gas companies, and the lives of people in general.
He added, “The current fluctuations in energy markets have dire consequences for humanity, as the cost of electricity and heating has risen to unsustainable levels in many countries of the world. However, global events, such as the war in Ukraine, may have other unintended long-term effects, such as stimulating and accelerating investment in renewable energy projects, providing safer and more affordable sustainable sources of energy for the world’s population, as well as reducing Fossil fuel demand.
Experts addressed the issue of unprecedented financing of clean energy projects during the past year, despite the uncertainty hanging over energy markets due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the global economy’s recovery from the Corona pandemic, and high interest rates.
According to the International Energy Agency, $1.4 trillion in investments have been pumped into clean energy projects in 2022, which include solar farms to generate electricity, batteries and electric vehicle charging stations. The volume of these investments is greater than ever before, as it exceeded the volume of investments that were pumped into new oil and gas projects during the same period. Bloomberg Corporation stated, in its latest report, that investments in low-carbon energy projects equaled capital investments allocated to fossil fuel projects.
Moreover, BP has stated in one of its recent reports that it expects the war in Ukraine to lead to the growth of renewable energy projects, as many countries seek to increase the volume of energy produced locally, most of which is likely to come from renewable energy sources, types of other non-fossil fuels.
Despite the significant growth in renewable energy projects, the world still relies heavily on fossil fuels, as oil demand is expected to rise during the current year 2023, to record levels of 101.7 million barrels per day, according to data from the International Energy Agency.
On the other hand, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its latest report that what has been done so far to tackle climate change is not enough. In 2018, the authority highlighted the challenge of keeping global warming at 1.5°C, while the new report stated that the global warming challenge has become greater today due to the continuous increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
The panel said that more than a century of burning fossil fuels, combined with unsustainable energy use, has increased global warming by 1.1 degrees Celsius above levels during the industrial revolution. This has led to frequent climatic disasters, with serious impacts on the natural environment and people all over the world.
