Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to begin by thanking His Excellency, Zhang Jianhua, Administrator of the National Energy Administration of the People’s Republic of China, for the invitation to address the 2023 International Forum on Energy Transition.
His Excellency Jianhua is a good friend of OPEC and the National Energy Administration is a key partner in the excellent cooperation OPEC enjoys with China as part of the successful OPEC-China Energy Dialogue.
This was on display at the 6th High-level Meeting of the energy dialogue in May of this year, with His Excellency Jianhua underlining that OPEC and China remained important strategic partners who had achieved positive results in helping to jointly maintain global oil market stability.
The value of such stability feeds into the overall theme of this year’s forum, ‘Jointly Promoting Energy Transition for a Shared Green Future.’
As sagely noted in the past by His Excellency, the Honourable President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, “we must strive to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind”. Towards this end, and ahead of COP 28 in OPEC Member Country, the United Arab Emirates, in November and December this year, global policymakers must work to foster just and inclusive energy transitions, maintain energy security and reduce emissions.
I use the term transitions in the plural, because our goal must be to reflect the needs, capabilities and stages of development of all sovereign nations and peoples. An inclusive, equitable approach in which no country is overburdened beyond its capabilities is vital.
What is evident from all data-based outlooks is that oil will remain key to enabling energy security, as populations expand, economies grow, and the world looks to alleviate the scourge of energy poverty.
In this regard, OPEC remains committed to delivering an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations to avoid volatility.
We should also remember that 30 years ago fossil fuels made up over 80% of the energy mix, and this remains the same today. We cannot replace an energy system overnight, or even in two-to-three decades. We have to work with what we have.
This means ensuring that rising energy demand and the issue of climate change are not at odds with each other.
To meet this demand and achieve the Paris Agreement goals, OPEC sees technological innovation as key. Our Member Countries are already investing heavily in hydrogen projects, carbon capture utilization and storage facilities, and the circular carbon economy.
The importance of working together is key, as underlined at the recent OPEC-China energy dialogue meeting. Here, we both expressed our commitment to our cooperation moving forward, particularly in the areas of information sharing, technological exchange and energy transitions.
With that, I would like to wish you all fruitful discussions.