World needs smarter policies for carbon transition to succeed

World needs smarter policies for carbon transition to succeed

Sharjah: The energy supply crunch in Europe, Asia and the US this past year has underscored the need for smarter carbon-transition policy, Majid Jafar, the CEO of Crescent Petroleum, told industry and policy leaders gathered for a virtual panel at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. To make lasting progress, carbon transition policy must be tailored to each country's needs and dynamics while addressing the limitations of renewable energy like intermittency and lack of storage. "Any successful and sustainable policy must address the need for affordable and reliable energy in the developing world, where a billion people still don't have electricity and 3 billion have no clean cooking solutions," Jafar told attendees to the launch of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Agenda. "What has become clear in recent months is that insufficient investment in oil and gas is leading to higher energy costs and more burning of coal worldwide, which both harms the economy and efforts to tackle climate change," he added. Jafar was joined on the panel by Mele Kiyari, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Francisco La Camera, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); Amb. Daniel Fried, former Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Distinguished