OPEC secretary-general takes aim at net-zero targets ‘detached from reality’

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This article was published 10/06/2025 (184 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY – There’s no peak in global oil demand on the horizon and it will take trillions in investment in the coming decades to meet that need, the secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Tuesday.

Primary energy demand is forecast to rise by 24 per cent between now and 2050, surpassing 120 million barrels a day, Haitham al-Ghais said in a speech to the Global Energy Show.

That will require US$17.4 trillion in investment over that time, he said.

“OPEC’s forecasts are not basically ideology. They are based on data and analysis of data, and they clearly indicate that of oil will remain an integral part of the energy mix,” al-Ghais said.

Inadequate investment in the oil and gas industry is a “dangerous matter,” he said.

“It undermines energy security and market stability and causes heightened volatility all around the world, which affects producers, but not only producers — more importantly, it actually affects consumers, and of course, the wider global economy.”

Al-Ghais said OPEC takes climate change “very, very seriously,” but expressed concern over net-zero targets he called “unrealistic,” “fixated on deadlines” and “detached from reality.”

“We welcome the recent moves toward policies grounded in pragmatic energy realities, and that recognize that we face an emissions challenge and not the energy sources challenge,” al-Ghais said, noting OPEC members are signatories to the Paris climate agreement and recognize the role of renewable energy.

The OPEC secretary-general said his organization admires what Alberta has accomplished as an energy producer.

“As a result of this, Canada has become a major global — and I underline the word global — oil supplier,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025.