OPEC chief says electricity alone cannot power the future
Haitham Al Ghais argued that all energy sources remain essential, citing supply chains, plastics and electric vehicle challenges as blind spots in the electrification debate.
Electricity alone cannot power the future, and all energy sources remain essential, OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais said on Tuesday, Qatar's state news agency QNA reported.
Al Ghais spoke to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) while the 31st UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP31, is under way, saying the world will need substantially more electricity in the decades ahead,(Qatar News Agency (QNA))
He said that widespread talk of an "Age of Electricity" has not yet been fully realized, and he called instead for an "Age of all Energies" in which the contribution of each source to the others is clearly understood,(Qatar News Agency (QNA))
Al Ghais outlined four blind spots in the debate over electrification, starting with the material reality of installing equipment in homes, offices, cars and cities.
He said producing and delivering this equipment depends on international supply chains, and that these logistics remain overwhelmingly dependent on petroleum-powered transportation.
He also said wider electrification would drive demand for more petroleum-derived products, pointing to plastic insulation in cables and chargers, plastic casings around transformers and plastic packaging.
Al Ghais further pointed to challenges facing electric vehicles, including the availability of critical minerals, public charging capacity, subsidies and market realities affecting manufacturers and consumers.
OPEC is a group of oil-producing countries whose officials often argue that oil and gas will remain part of the global energy mix, and COP31 is being held in Türkiye.
