Investment in people is always the best investment - Fahd Al Ajlan

The principles of a just and social transition require balancing the needs of and effective social dialogue with all impacted groups during the switch to a lower carbon energy system. This panel will unite think tanks and government agencies to discuss how policies and ESG investments can foster a more inclusive and diverse workforce and a broader circular economy, whilst supporting local communities and promoting the progress of the energy sector in developing a more competitive and sustainable future.

Fahd Al Ajlan

Mr. Al Ajlan said there’d been a lot of talk throughout the conference about AI and advanced technology, but he thinks that is only from a developed-economies perspective, and that it’s not really of much help to developing economies. “Today, when we look at the oil and gas industry, a lot of the value chain is close to the source. So, if you’re drilling in Saudi Arabia, a lot of the jobs would be in Saudi Arabia. If you’re drilling in Africa, a lot of the jobs will be in Africa. Unfortunately, with clean energy, a lot of the jobs are taking a manufacturing approach, and a lot of the jobs will be centralized in manufacturing hubs, whether that’s in China, the EU, or North America.”

For countries in Africa and Southeast Asia, he said it will be very difficult for them to actually be a part of the new value chain. A circular economy, he says, could solve a lot of issues around job localization, and it’s a solution that needs to be examined, along with incentives for industry to localize, and training. “Investment in people is always the best investment,” he said, especially segments like women and youth. “These are important, and I think these are policies that can enable part of the circularity that we need to talk about.”

Roberto Ardenghy

Mr. Ardenghy raised concerns about the sustainability of new energy technologies and the gap they present for a circular economy. “What are you going to do with all those batteries that are being used heavily and very difficult to recycle?” He thinks insufficient attention is being paid to this aspect of the industry and how it will affect society. Another key issue for him was consumer habits. “We are heavy users of energy. We have accustomed ourselves, have been using this energy in a very inefficient way.” He talked about all the energy wasted worldwide simply because people leave their air conditioning or heating on in the comfort zone all day while they are away at work. “Nobody wants to touch this. But this is a big issue.”

We need to be agents of transformation in local communities, in society

Meg Gentle

“I think that we really have to be mindful that each community is really balancing affordability with energy security and reliability and emissions reduction,” said Ms. Gentle, “And each community is going to have a different need to balance between those three things.” As far as HIF is concerned, she talked about how it’s easier to sell into existing markets than create new ones.

Since the global transportation sector needs to be decarbonized and can’t switch to batteries overnight, HIF is focused on creating synthetic fuels that can be dropped into existing infrastructure. It’s successfully producing these e-fuels in southern Chile. Talking about the investment side of things, Ms. Gentle said she finds today’s capital markets more open to funding energy transition than she’s ever seen them be about anything else. Including all sources worldwide, she estimates $5 trillion currently earmarked for energy transition investment.

“You have to have projects that are financeable by that capital, and so it has to be the correct risk profile.” She said you need technology that can get accepted by an independent engineer evaluation as reasonably advanced, tested, and proven. You also need long-term offtake agreements from creditworthy balance sheets, construction plan, and justified market. “So, it’s not difficult to access this capital, you just have to put together the right pieces.”

It’s not difficult to access this capital. You just have to put together the right pieces