OPEC Secretary General Warns Against a Hasty Farewell to Oil

PeopleDiplomats ♦ Published: May 23, 2025; 16:19 ♦ (Vindobona)

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais repeatedly comments on the role of the oil industry in the context of global climate targets and the energy transition. In a recent interview, he emphasized that despite the expansion of renewable energies, global demand for oil will not fall in the coming decades. “It is a myth that new energy sources will automatically replace older ones,” says Al Ghais.

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais emphasizes the continued importance of fossil fuels and calls for a realistic assessment of the energy transition. / Picture: © BMEIA Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äußeres / Michael Gruber / Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0 DEED)

Despite worldwide investment in renewable energies, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) does not foresee a decline in global demand for oil in the coming decades. Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC, emphasizes in an interview with “Selektiv”, a medium supported by…