IEF Industry Advisory Council Meeting

From Dialogue to Delivery: IEF Industry Advisory Council Meets in Paris.

On 17-18 June 2025, The International Energy Forum's Industry Advisory Council (IAC) gathered in Paris for a focused dialogue on IEF energy security and clean technology priorities. Against a backdrop of persistent energy market and geopolitical risk, rising capital costs, and shifting investment and trade patterns, the discussions explored how to align transitions with new geoeconomic economic realities, that recast clean energy access and industrial competitiveness needs.

IEF Secretary General Jassim Alshirawi said in his opening statement that: renewed cooperation is urgently required to move global energy markets and policies forward, with a sharper focus on energy affordability and access.

In his keynote address, Tommy Joyce, Acting Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, underlined the strategic importance of public-private collaboration to ensure sustainable energy flows, while calling for more neutral energy outlooks and expanded access to reliable data.

Roundtable discussions held under the Chatham House Rule, were structured in four thematic sessions focussed on:

1. IEF Energy Security and Clean Technology Review
2. Accelerating the Adoption of Nuclear and Renewable Energy for a Resilient and Competitive Energy Future
3. Role of Hydrocarbons in Anchoring Energy Security, Sustainability, and Affordability
4. Matching Carbon Management with Markets Solutions for Affordable Decarbonization

A set of ten key findings from the IEF will inform ongoing stakeholder engagement and dialogue. These findings call for more technology-neutral regulation, practical financing solutions, supply chain resilience, expanded carbon markets, and a sharper focus on emerging market realities.

The IEF works with the IEF Industry Advisory Council to ensure that IEF dialogue remains driven by market realities and includes the views and experiences of all stakeholders. The Industry Advisory Council helps to advance the IEF mission and reinforce its commitment to inclusive, evidence-based dialogue that delivers a more secure, resilient, affordable, and sustainable global energy system.

10 Key Industry Advisory Council Findings for IEF Stakeholders*

1. Recalibrate Transitions with Energy Security and Economic Goals:
   Broaden the energy transition narrative to equally prioritize energy affordability, security, and industrial competitiveness alongside decarbonization.
2. Support Flexible Technology-Neutral Regulation:
   Encourage international standard setters to adopt more inclusive and adaptable taxonomies to reflect diverse regional transition pathways.
3. Promote Practical Financing Models:
   Bridge gaps between project bankability and climate ambition through blended finance instruments and public-private partnerships.
4. Enhance Grid and Permitting Reforms:
   Fast-track regional coordination on grid infrastructure, permitting processes, and interconnection standards to accelerate renewable and nuclear deployment.
5. Strengthen Resilience of Energy Supply Chains:
   Foster joint initiatives on critical mineral access, circular economy models, and strategic reserves to improve supply chain reliability.
6. Champion Low-Carbon Hydrocarbons:
   Encourage continued investment in lower-emission oil and gas projects that meet near-term energy needs and support just transitions.
7. Accelerate Deployment of CCUS and CCE Models:
   Facilitate knowledge-sharing and value chain integration to scale CCUS technologies, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors and emerging markets.
8. Expand and Link Carbon Markets:
   Support the development of voluntary and compliance-based carbon markets, including cross-border credit schemes and digital MRV systems.
9. Leverage the IEF Platform for Dialogue and Alignment:
   Expand IEF-facilitated exchanges that boost investor confidence and reduce market uncertainty; peer review of outlooks and foster policy and regulatory cohesion to stimulate innovation. Expand data transparency across conventional and clean energy.
10. Address Emerging Market Needs More Directly:
    Focus energy and climate policy dialogues to reflect on the energy investment priorities and constraints in both growth and advanced economies, including through enhanced dialogue and cooperation mechanisms.

* IEF Findings only; Discussions were held under the Chatham House Rule

Summary of Proceedings*

Opening and Scene-Setting Remarks

• Jassim Alshirawi, Secretary General of the IEF, emphasized the need for renewed cooperation in a fragmented energy landscape shaped by geopolitical tension, cost inflation, and capital constraints.
• Tommy Joyce, Acting Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy, underlined the strategic importance of the industry and public-private collaboration in securing sustainable energy flows while addressing immediate economic risks. He highlighted the need for more neutral energy outlooks, reliable data complementing dialogue with universal access to affordable energy scenarios.

Session 1: Energy Security and Clean Technology Review

Moderated by Christof van Agt Ross, Director of Energy Dialogue (IEF), with László Varró (Shell), Carole Nakhle (Crystol Energy), Andy Drummond (Woodside) as panelists

Discussion Outcomes:

• A growing consensus has emerged that energy transitions must be rebalanced to better account for economic competitiveness and energy security.
• The panel reviewed the implications of shifting capital allocation, noting a divergence between climate policy ambition and practical ‘investability’ of energy projects.
• Clean technology development is accelerating, but supply chain pressures, fragmented regulation, and high borrowing costs are key bottlenecks.

Session 2: Accelerating Nuclear and Renewables

Moderated by Iván Martén Uliarte (Orkestra) with Mikel Amundarain (Basque Energy Agency), Daniel Adam (SN Nuclearelectrica), Adnan Shihab Eldin (OIES), Ximena Vásquez-Maignan (White & Case) as panelists

Discussion Outcomes:

• The session underscored the role of nuclear and renewables in stabilizing power systems, especially as intermittency and volatility increase.
• Participants stressed the need for faster permitting, grid expansion, and investment in critical minerals for resilience.
• Legal harmonization of safety, security, safeguards, and liability frameworks was seen as vital to unlocking more private investment in next-generation nuclear power.

Session 3: Role of Hydrocarbons in Energy Security and Affordability

Moderated by Bassam Fattouh (Oxford Institute for Energy Studies) with Musaab Al Mulla (Saudi Aramco), NJ Ayuk (African Energy Chamber), Jean-Pascal Clémençon (TotalEnergies) and Charif Souki (Founder of Cheniere and Co-Founder of Tellurian)

Discussion Outcomes:

• There was broad agreement that hydrocarbons remain indispensable for global energy resilience, especially in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
• Investments must be made cleaner rather than fewer, with technologies like CCUS, hydrogen integration, and low-carbon LNG leading the way.
• Key risks include regulatory uncertainty, underinvestment, and the potential erosion of long-term supply flexibility due to short-term policymaking.

Session 4: Matching Carbon Management with Market Solutions

Moderated by Cornelia Meyer (Meyer Resources) with Antoine Rostand (Kayrros), Ayla Majid (Planetive), Risa Yasuda (JOGMEC) and Faisal Al Qurooni (Ministry of Energy KSA).

Discussion Outcomes:

• The panel explored how market-based mechanisms, such as voluntary carbon markets and carbon credits, could stimulate wider deployment of carbon management technologies.
• Participants called for new business models integrating CCUS and Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) frameworks into industrial value chains.
• A lack of carbon price transparency and financing criteria harmonization was seen as a major barrier to scaling deployment in developing countries.

* IEF Findings only; IEF IAC discussions were held under the Chatham House Rules