OPEC’s top official warned against abandoning fossil fuels, reacting once again to statements from the world energy watchdog.
The elimination of hydrocarbons “would lead to energy chaos on a potentially unprecedented scale, with dire consequences for economies and billions of people worldwide,” Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais said in a statement on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency said oil demand could plateau this decade as consumers shift more to renewables to avoid catastrophic climate change. “We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
The clash marks another war of words between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the IEA, which has criticized Saudi Arabia and its partners for risking an inflationary surge by raising fuel prices.
The Paris-based IEA described the OPEC+ alliance, led by the Saudis and Russia, as a “formidable challenge” to the stability of oil markets, which have faced considerable disruption for the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow.
