Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al Kaabi has stressed that energy transition is a shared responsibility that requires the active participation of oil and gas producers, legislators and governments, and consumers around the world and should be driven in an equitable way. Al Kaabi, who is also the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, made the remarks during the opening ministerial session of the Gastech Exhibition & Conference in Dubai to discuss driving the global energy transition, the Peninsula newspaper reported. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the UAE Minister of Energy, Fatih Dönmez, Turkey's Minister of Energy & Natural Resources, Arifin Tasrif, Indonesia's Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources, and Mohammad Barkindo Sanusi, OPEC's Secretary General, were present at the conference. In his remarks, Al Kaabi noted that the energy transition is underway. "However," he added, "We must all be cautious of the euphoria that is driving unrealistic rhetoric around the transition instead of tackling the issues that can be solved today." As an example, he highlighted that more than 30 percent of the world's electricity is generated with coal today. He said: "By simply switching from coal to gas, we can cut the associated CO2 emissions by at least one half." He also warned that pressuring producers into stopping oil and gas investments even for sustaining current production will have dire consequences, which can be felt severely by consumers. In presenting his vision for an energy transition that leaves no one behind, Al Kaabi said, "Let's not forget there are almost one billion people on our planet today that are deprived of basic electricity and fuels. Let's not forget them by only focusing on the richer countries and what they can afford and do." He reaffirmed the State of Qatar's commitment to investing in natural gas projects. He said, "This is our responsibility to the gas market and a big part of the transition journey we have embarked upon. We are adding four mega- LNG trains that have already been sanctioned and another two mega- trains will be sanctioned in the first quarter of next year." Al Kaabi called on governments to assume their role in guiding energy transition by putting practical and pragmatic plans in place. He said: "Legislators and governments have a role to play. As an example, we do not have a consistent approach to carbon pricing or any other concrete mechanism that induces the right behavior toward energy transition. Many governments are calling for net-zero targets by 2050, but with no real plans or clear path to achieve that. This is not helpful to either governments or the public." He said the oil and gas industry is part of the solution in the energy transition and fundamental to the growth of the global economy. "We have to join hands to make sure that this mammoth task that we are embarking on can be practically achieved. We need to collaborate and be realistic," he added. -- MENAFN
