The president and CEO of Saudi oil giant Aramco called for an urgently needed energy "transition strategy re-set" during a keynote speech on Monday at the US CERAWeek 2024 event.
Amin Nasser, in his address at the event that is running between March 18 and 22 in Houston and in which top energy executives and officials are participating, called for oil and gas investments but also for the reduction in carbon emissions by aggressively improving efficiency and introducing lower carbon solutions.
"We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas and instead invest in them adequately, reflecting realistic demand assumptions," he said.
He said the world "should phase in new energy sources and technologies when they are genuinely ready, economically competitive, and with the right infrastructure, adjusting all of the above as needed as we go."
According to Nasser, unless the world complements conventional materials with more durable and less emission-intensive ones, global net zero ambitions are unlikely to be achieved.
The annual CERAWeek conference features over 1,400 expert speakers and gathers more than 8,000 representatives from the energy, utilities, automotive, manufacturing, policy, financial, and technology fields in the US.
By Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr