An international summit on the future of energy security opens in London on Thursday amidst major disagreements over the role of renewables in satisfying the world’s thirst for energy.
The two-day International Energy Agency (IEA) meeting takes place amid global economic turmoil sparked by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
It also comes at a time of a trade war between the United States and China and wider economic uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.
“The summit will examine the geopolitical, technological and economic factors affecting energy security at the national and international level,” the IEA said.
Several energy ministers from European countries are to attend the gathering, including 120 senior government officials, business leaders, and experts.
The United States will only be represented by acting deputy secretaries of state, while China, Saudi Arabia and Russia are skipping the event altogether.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is to detail Europe’s efforts to promote affordable and sustainable energy, although there are doubts over how much importance the summit will give to renewables.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has welcomed the meeting.
“The overall theme is one that OPEC supports. It is positive to see the IEA refocusing on energy security after veering away from this fundamental goal,” the group said on Wednesday.
“Many net zero policies have endorsed unrealistic timelines or had little regard for energy security, affordability or feasibility,” said OPEC, which has previously described the phasing out of fossil fuels as a “fantasy.”
OPEC, whose membership is dominated by oil-producing Gulf states, believes that energy security must be achieved by adding renewable energy sources to existing fossil fuels, not by replacing them.
European countries believe, however, that nuclear energy and renewables are the best way to avoid dependence on imported oil and gas, the prices of which have been increasingly volatile since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In the United States, Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to lower energy prices with a “drill baby drill” approach in oil and gas fields, while limiting the development of wind power projects.
The purpose of the IEA, which was established in 1974 in response to the first oil crisis, remains “to promote the energy transition as a tool for energy sovereignty,” according to the French Energy Ministry’s office.
It says “there is no stated American agenda for this meeting, and no European concern about a deviation from the agenda.”
But according to a source at a major European energy company, the IEA and its executive director Fatih Birol have moderated their rhetoric toward renewables in recent months.
The idea is to “avoid antagonizing the Trump administration and to calm things down a little with OPEC,” this source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
