OPEC secretary-general takes aim at net-zero targets calling them ‘detached from reality’

The Secretary General of OPEC told the Global Energy Show in Calgary that energy demand is expected to increase by 24 per cent by the year 2050.

There’s no peak in global oil demand on the horizon and it will take trillions in investment in the coming decades to meet that need, the secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Tuesday in an address to the Global Energy Show in Calgary.

Primary energy demand is forecast to rise by 24 per cent between now and 2050, surpassing 120 million barrels a day, said Haitham al-Ghais.

That will require US$17.4 trillion in investment over that time, he added.

“OPEC’s forecasts are not basically ideology. They are based on data and analysis of data, and they clearly indicate that of oil will remain an integral part of the energy mix,” al-Ghais said.

Inadequate investment in the oil and gas industry is a “dangerous matter,” he said.

“It undermines energy security and market stability and causes heightened volatility all around the world, which affects producers, but not only producers — more importantly, it actually affects consumers, and of course, the wider global economy.”

Al-Ghais said OPEC takes climate change “very, very seriously,” but expressed concern over net-zero targets he called “unrealistic,” “fixated on deadlines” and “detached from reality.”

“We welcome the recent moves toward policies grounded in pragmatic energy realities, and that recognize that we face an emissions challenge and not the energy sources challenge,” al-Ghais said, noting OPEC members are signatories to the Paris climate agreement and recognize the role of renewable energy.