ADIPEC 2025: Ministers advocate balanced energy transition anchored on security, affordability
Global energy leaders have underscored the need for a just and balanced energy transition that safeguards energy access and security while meeting global climate targets.
Ministers from Nigeria, Montenegro, and Zimbabwe, among others shared their national strategies on Wednesday during a ministerial panel session at the ongoing 2025 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC).
Supreme news reports that the 41st edition of ADIPEC, hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has as theme ”Energy, Intelligence, Impact”.
Speaking on the panel, themed ”Global Shifts: Navigating an Era of Diverging Priorities”, Montenegro’s Minister of Energy and Mining, Admir Sahmanovoc, called for a ”just transition” that prioritises fairness and inclusion.
He said Montenegro was implementing a phased plan to reduce reliance on thermal power, promote renewable alternatives, and support workers affected by energy sector restructuring.
”We already have about 65 renewable projects in our pipeline. Our undersea cable with Italy and a second one under development will double our transmission capacity and strengthen our role as a regional energy bridge,” he said.
Sahmanovoc added that Montenegro was aligning its energy laws with European Union standards and pursuing new partnerships, including a government-to-government deal with the United Arab Emirates.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Energy and Power Development, July Moyo, identified energy security and affordability as his country’s immediate priorities.
”Like many countries in Southern Africa, we face power shortages that affect mining, agriculture, and industry. To address this, we have opened generation, transmission, and distribution to private participation,” he said.
Moyo explained that Zimbabwe was integrating pension and insurance funding into renewable and infrastructure investments, supported by new government-backed incentives.
”Our capital markets can partner with international investors, and our cost-reflective tariffs are being dis-aggregated across the value chain so investors clearly see their returns.
“Zimbabwe aims to increase non-hydro renewable capacity from 7.8 per cent to 29 per cent within five years,” he added.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, emphasised that Africa’s energy transition must reflect the continent’s development realities.
“Energy transition should be sequential, just, and limited, no one-size-fits-all model can be imposed on developing economies.
“Gas is central to our strategy because it supports power, transport, and industrialisation. We cannot decarbonise to poverty,” he stated.
Ekpo said Nigeria’s transition plan leveraged its more than 210 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves to drive industrial growth and expand clean cooking access.
He added that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and recent executive orders had created a more attractive investment climate through tax incentives, shorter contracting timelines, and funding mechanisms such as the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF).
Also speaking, Jassim Alshirawi, Secretary-General of the International Energy Forum (IEF), said the organisation promotes inclusive dialogue between producers and consumers to foster policy predictability and transparency.
He noted that the IEF’s Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) was expanding to include sustainability metrics, providing integrated energy and emissions data for policymakers and investors.
”Diverse perspectives among members are not a failure of cooperation but an opportunity for deeper understanding that drives collaboration and action,” Alshirawi said.
The Secretary-General of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), Osama Mobarez, reaffirmed that natural gas remained essential to achieving both climate and energy security goals.
He said the EMGF’s Decarbonisation initiative, inaugurated in 2022, focused on reducing emissions across the gas value chain while positioning the East Mediterranean as a low-carbon investment hub.
”Gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, and with proven technologies, we can make it even cleaner. Our goal is to produce and deliver gas responsibly while supporting our members with regulatory alignment, technology access, and carbon certification,” he said.
The session concluded with a shared consensus that the global energy transition must be inclusive, balanced, and economically sustainable, with natural gas playing a pivotal role in bridging the global energy divide.
