Need to rethink current energy transition plans: Aramco CEO

Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser underlined the need to change the current energy transition plan and implement a new global energy model that allows balanced growth for all types of energy – traditional and renewable – and focuses on achieving climate goals.

In a keynote speech at CERAWeek 2025 in Houston, Texas, Nasser pointed to the expected need for a yearly estimated additional $6 to 8 trillion to fund global climate action, and warned that a failure to change the current approach would constitute a “fast track to dystopia.”

“The greatest transition fiction was that conventional energy could be almost entirely replaced, virtually overnight… Hydrocarbons still provide over 80% of primary energy in the US, almost 90% in China, and even in the EU it is more than 70%,” he said.

New sources add to the energy mix, complement existing sources and do not replace them, Nasser said, adding that new sources cannot even meet the growth in demand. Meanwhile the proven sources needed to fill the gap are demonized and discarded. “It is a fast track to dystopia, not utopia.”

There is a need for a new three-pillar global energy model. First, all sources must play a growing role in meeting rising energy demand in a balanced, integrated manner.

“Certainly, that includes new and alternative energy sources. But they will complement conventional energy, not replace it in any meaningful way,” he said.

“Investments are needed in all sources, and, therefore, extensive de-regulation and greater incentives for financial institutions are required to provide unbiased financing.”

Secondly, the model must genuinely serve the needs of developed and developing nations alike, as originally promised, especially when it comes to technology. Third, and crucially, this has to be about delivering real results.

On the importance of emissions reductions, Nasser said: “This does not mean stepping back from our global climate ambitions.”

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions must still get the highest possible priority. That means prioritizing technologies that drive efficiency, lower energy use, and further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from conventional energy — and AI will clearly be a game-changing enabler. But the future of energy is not only about sustainability.

Security and affordability must share the stage. With all energy sources working in harmony as one team, delivering real results, he noted.