Asia needs a voice in global energy transition plans: Aramco president
Energy transition progress is far less equitable for the Global South and more complicated than expected
DESPITE accounting for more than half of the world’s population and gross domestic product, Asia’s voice in the global energy transition planning is absent, said Amin Nasser, the president and chief executive officer of Saudi Arabia oil giant Aramco.
“Asia’s voice and priorities like those in the Global South are harder to see in current transition planning,” he said on the first day of the Singapore International Energy Week 2024 event on Monday (Oct 21).
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 such as 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 such as 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, rather than a fall, in oil demand from the Global South.
With billions invested in energy transition, oil demand remains at an all-time high, with gas demand up 70 per cent since 2000, said Nasser, who has been at the helm of Aramco since 2015.
“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, said Naseer. “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,” he added.
Instead, he 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 out on their energy transitions. This includes traditional energy sources such as oil and gas.
Shifting from coal to gas can reduce up to two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, and going after these low-hanging fruit can more efficiently reduce carbon emissions.
Such moves are 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 timeframe and a different source of technology,” he said.
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