Excellencies, ladies and Gentlemen,
Introduction
For the last 30 years, the member countries of OFID, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the same Members of OPEC, have been turning their political commitments into action with regards to energy for sustainable development and other related issues.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Energy mix for the poor
From our experience, there is no one size fit-all energy mix model to satisfy the basic energy needs of the poor. The energy mix for the poor can only rely on diversified fossil fuels as well as renewables. Some renewables such as water, wind, sun, geothermics and biomass, though limited, could provide interesting sustainable local solutions. Biofuels, however, do produce negative side effects, such as reducing food production, distorting food market prices and worsening water shortage in some cases. I believe we heard yesterday the same word of caution from the Honourable Minister of Environment of the Netherlands. However, renewables could only cover a limited share in the energy mix for the poor. Even this limited share of renewables can only be achieved with substantial financial and technical assistance from the industrialized nations.
As is well known, fossil fuels will continue in the foreseeable future to play a dominant role in the energy mix. It is therefore appropriate to emphasize that the key drivers for fighting energy poverty in a sustainable manner, include: the development and dissemination of clean fossil fuel technologies, in particular for oil and gas, improved energy efficiency, capacity building and enhanced financial assistance to the poor.
OFID: aims and record
Eradicating poverty in the poorest developing countries is the main mandate of my institution: OFID, (The OPEC Fund for International Development). Since its inception in 1976, OFID as a manifestation of South-South solidarity, has been contributing towards the alleviation of poverty in 119 developing countries around the world. OFID has been doing so by helping to build schools, hospitals, roads, power generation plants, other much needed infrastructures, as well as support for research and other similar intellectual activities. More than 20% of OFID’s operations are dedicated to energy projects. Sustainable development does not depend on financial resources only, but also on the need to transfer knowledge and cooperation between different partners.
Mr. Chairman,
In conclusion, I would like to alert the participants to the long term unsustainable development in the oil producing countries and the need to have it as a priority. [End of 3 minutes]
Thank you very much for your attention.