Proponents of critical minerals as the way to have a world running solely on renewables and electric vehicles are not providing the full picture as their assessments of necessary investments and the speed of the energy transition sound unrealistic, according to OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais.
“Petroleum-based products are also used for excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks on site, as well as various forms of transportation to move minerals from supply to demand centres,” Al Ghais said. Oil products and other fossil fuels are also used for the production of solar panels, wind turbines, and EVs. “The oil industry, renewables and EVs are not separate from each other.