NEW DELHI, February 11. /TASS/. The world has already spent almost $10 trillion to transition to green energy over the last 20-25 years but renewable energy makes up just 2-3% of global energy use today, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said at the India Energy Week conference.

According to the OPEC chief, the debate about fossil fuels versus green energy is being framed the wrong way. "Why should the two be framed always as if they are in competition with each other or one is going to be posing an existential threat to the other?" Al Ghais argued. "The world has spent almost 10 trillion US dollars in so-called transitioning over the last 20, 25 years. Almost $9.5 or $10 trillion if I'm not mistaken. And where are we today? Renewables still only form about 3 or 4%," he noted.

Neither OPEC in general nor he personally are against the use of renewable energy sources, Al Ghais stressed. "In fact, our countries are some of the leaders in embracing renewable energies. But we are all about taking a balanced approach," he continued. "Oil is paramount to providing energy security to the world. Energy security drives global economic prosperity and growth. Without oil, the world will stop," the OPEC Secretary General added.