Yesterday, the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al-Ghais, accused the International Energy Agency of distorting the reputation of the oil and gas industry, in the latest dispute between the two groups over climate policy.
Al Ghais said in a statement: “This represents a very narrow framework of the challenges we face and may diminish issues such as energy security, access, and affordability, and it also unfairly tarnishes the industry’s reputation. As it is behind the climate crisis.
He added: “(OPEC) will be present in the climate talks, and it is unfortunate that the International Energy Agency describes technologies; Such as the use of carbon capture and storage, as an illusion, as reports of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change consider it part of the solution.
He stated, “The truth that must be said is simple and clear to anyone who wants to see it, which is that the energy challenges facing us are enormous and complex, and cannot be limited to a question whose answer is only binary (true or false, good or bad).”
OPEC Secretary-General, Haitham Al Ghais, accused the International Energy Agency (IEA) of vilifying the oil and gas industry, in the latest clash between the groups over climate policy, Reuters reports.
Al Ghais was referring to a note published by the West’s energy watchdog on Thursday that said the fossil fuel industry was facing a “moment of truth”, where producers had to choose between deepening the climate crisis or shifting to clean energy.
Al Ghais said in a statement: “It also unjustly vilifies the industry as being behind the climate crisis.”
The Organisation of the Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Paris-based IEA have repeatedly clashed in recent years over issues such as long-term oil demand prospects and investment in new hydrocarbon supplies.
OPEC Statment
The latest fall-out comes as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major OPEC producer, prepares to host the COP28 UN climate summit at the end of the week.
Al Ghais has said OPEC would be present at the climate talks.
The IEA sees world fossil fuel demand peaking by 2030 as more electric cars hit the road and China’s economy grows more slowly while shifting towards cleaner energy.
OPEC, de facto led by top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, disagrees with the prediction.
It has described such projections as “dangerous”, saying they are often accompanied by calls to stop new oil and gas investments which would then jeopardize energy security.
In Thursday’s note, the IEA was also critical of carbon capture technologies.
“The industry needs to commit to genuinely helping the world meet its energy needs and climate goals – which means letting go of the illusion that implausibly large amounts of carbon capture are the solution,” the IEA statement published on its website said.
The UAE, the second Arab country to host the climate summit after Egypt in 2022, has alongside other Gulf energy producers, called for what they consider a more realistic energy transition in which fossil fuels would keep a role in securing energy supplies while industries decarbonize.
Al Ghais said it was regrettable the IEA called technologies such as carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) an “illusion”, as they were seen in UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports as part of the solution.
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