Emerging Global Energy Consensus: Diversified Pathways from Supplementation to Transition


Published time:

2025-07-18

Emerging Global Energy Consensus: Diversified Pathways from Supplementation to Transition

 

At CERAWeek held in Houston this March, five key areas of global energy consensus were highlighted:

1New energy as a supplement, not a substitute:

Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of S&P Global, noted during the conference and in the Foreign Affairs March/April 2025 issue that the rise of renewables does not replace traditional energy, but rather builds upon it. Whats unfolding is less of an energy transitionand more of an energy addition.

 

2Fossil fuels remain indispensable due to their material nature:

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright emphasized that energy is not just one sector, but the foundation of all others. Beyond obvious issues like scale and cost, wind and solar cannot physically replace fossil fuels.

 

3Energy equity requires regionally differentiated transitions:

Billions around the world still face electricity shortages. A long-term complementarity between new and traditional energy is essential to balance sustainability, security, affordability, and adaptability to the technological capacities of developing countries.

 

4Natural gas as a base-load fuel and essential raw material will exceed demand expectations: Natural gas has become the core transitional fuel in the energy shift. According to ADNOCs CEO, the high energy demand of AI requires stable electricity, and by 2030, U.S. data centers alone may account for over 10% of national power consumption.

 

5LNG demand is rising sharply, reshaping the market amid tightening supply and Russias reentry:

S&P Global predicts that global LNG demand will grow by 40% in the next five yearsfrom 400 million tons per year now to 560 million tons by 2030, and 700 million tons by 2050. LNG plays a central role in the energy transition by compensating for renewable intermittency and supporting the gradual phase-out of coal.