Geopolitical and economic volatility holding progress in post-COVID era: Minister Al Kaabi – The Peninsula

Geopolitical and economic volatility holding progress in post-COVID era: Minister Al Kaabi – The Peninsula

Doha: Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi has warned that “geopolitical and economic volatility in a post-COVID era are holding any progress we had hoped to achieve in the battle against climate change, and are even forcing us to take many steps backwards”.

Speaking at the Asia Green Growth Partnership Ministerial Meeting, which was held virtually from Tokyo with the participation of Asian energy ministers, Minister Al Kaabi highlighted the impact of geopolitical challenges which have disrupted global energy supplies, impacted energy prices, and created concerns over energy security as well as accessibility.

He said: “Inflationary pressures are impacting the oil and gas industry through rising production costs, delays in investment decisions, and increased policy uncertainty. Such developments caused a setback in the kind of serious energy transition the world needs in order to address the immediate challenges of climate change. This has caused a serious erosion in public support for reducing carbon emissions in many countries which had earlier campaigned for greener energy and a carbon-free future – thus negating years of environmental achievements”.

The Minister also called for a serious and realistic energy transition and for greater investments in