His Excellency Eng. Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), delivered a high-level intervention during the closing plenary session of the World Gas Conference 2025, titled “The Role of Natural Gas in the Future Energy Systems.”
In his remarks, HE Hamel emphasised the GECF’s balanced and forward-looking approach to energy dialogue, grounded in the principles of sustainable development. He noted that pragmatism is returning to the global energy discourse, with growing recognition that natural gas is indispensable for ensuring energy security while supporting just, orderly, and equitable transitions.
HE Hamel highlighted the unique role of natural gas in aligning economic growth, social progress, and environmental protection. Citing GECF forecasts, he projected a 32% increase in global gas demand by 2050, reaffirming the long-term relevance of gas in the evolving energy landscape. He described natural gas as a critical enabler of the energy transition due to its scalability, flexibility, and lower emissions intensity. It plays a central role in coal-to-gas switching, in supporting the reliability of power systems dominated by intermittent renewables, and in responding to new sources of baseload demand from data centers, digital infrastructure, and increased cooling needs.
Beyond power generation, HE Hamel stressed the importance of natural gas in decarbonizing energy-intensive industries such as cement, steel, iron, and glass production, sectors that depend on high-temperature heat. In this context, he identified blue hydrogen, derived from natural gas with CCUS, as a viable solution for reducing emissions in hard-to-abate sectors. He also emphasised the critical use of natural gas as a feedstock for fertilizer production, which is fundamental to ensuring global food security.
Addressing the issue of energy access, HE Hamel called for urgent action to scale up clean cooking solutions, particularly in Africa. He advocated transitioning from traditional biomass to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), underscoring its far-reaching health, environmental, and socioeconomic benefits. This transition, he noted, is especially transformative for women and children and contributes to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals.