The global energy transition depends on highly concentrated supply chains, the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has warned, declining to name any of the countries involved in these chains.
China is by far the most dominant global player in energy transition technology, capacity, and investment. China makes the most wind and solar equipment, is the biggest battery maker in the world, and also the biggest manufacturer and seller of electric cars.
According to Birol, this could be a problem, especially for Southeast Asia, Reuters reported today, citing a speech by the IEA secretary-general at the Singapore International Energy Week conference.
“The age of electricity is coming. We will still use oil, still use natural gas including LNG, but electricity demand is growing very strongly,” Birol said. Reuters cited data from climate outlet Ember showing that Southeast Asia was the main destination for Chinese transition tech and products. Since the start of the year, the region has bought $20 billion worth of such tech and products, with the reason likely to do with the oil and gas crunch caused by the U.S. and Israel war with Iran.
Speaking of the war, Birol said that “In my professional life, I have never, never ever seen the dark and long shadow of geopolitics dominating the energy sector in such a way.” The IEA head added that “I can only imagine that the role of geopolitics will be much more pronounced, and this means energy security is going to become even more important than it is today.”
As a silver lining, however, Birol noted the increased demand for alternative energy and electric cars, noting a 60% increase in EV sales outside China over previous forecasts, all driven by the war-related oil and gas crunch. The trend is one sign of changing energy consumption patterns on a global scale, the IEA’s head also said.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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