DESPITE accounting for more than half of the world’s population and gross domestic product (GDP), Asia’s voice in the global energy transition planning is absent, said Amin Nasser, Aramco president and CEO.
“Asia’s voice and priorities like those in the Global South are harder to see in current transition planning,” he said at Singapore International Energy Week 2024.
The continent accounts for more than half of the global energy consumption, with Nasser noting that 84 per cent of Asia’s energy needs are fuelled by traditional energy sources like coal. Energy transition progress is far less equitable for the Global South and more complicated than expected.
The world is not yet at peak oil demand yet, as Nasser noted that while developed countries like the US consume about 22 barrels of oil per person per year, Vietnam currently accounts for 2.4 barrels of oil per person per year. There is likely to be growth in oil demand from the Global South, rather than a fall in oil demand.
With billions invested in energy transition, oil demand remains at an all time high, with gas demand up 70 per cent since 2000, noted Nasser.
“Rather than an energy transition, we are really talking about energy addition,” he said.
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Transition will be a costly affair, with an estimated US$100 trillion to US$200 trillion required globally by 2050. For developing countries, about US$6 billion will be required each year, noted Nasser.
“The future looks especially big if many have to spend up to half their total GDP every year on transition, which is why almost all the recent growth in clean energy investment have been advanced economies and China,” he said.
A single one size fits all plan for every country is unrealistic, as Nasser notes that,” the belief that a single land can meet the needs of more than 200 countries that assumption is like asking for WiFi password in a village without electricity.”
Instead Nasser called for more investment into technology and innovation that could bring down the cost of energy transition, making it more affordable for developing countries just starting on their energy transition. This includes traditional energy sources like oil and gas.
Shifting from coal to gas can reduce up to two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, and going after these low hanging fruits can more efficiently reduce carbon emissions. Such moves is what Nasser calls a multi-source, multi-speed and multi-emission approach that addresses the energy security, affordability and sustainability priority of all countries, not just a few.
“This revitalises systematic emission reduction when the impact is greater and at an acceptable cost with a reasonable time frame and a different source of technology,” said Nasser
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