Fatih Birol

Like I said, just came from the G20, stability, predictability, and, and the trust element.

And I'll take the words of Fatih Birol, which is the executive director of the International Energy Agency.

He said, "The world energy architecture is being redesigned, and Canada will be at the center of it." So if you look at the world today and the conflict in the Middle East, the war in Europe, and trade tension, this has created a situation where people now see the nexus between energy security, economic security, and national security.

Now, if you want to ensure the growth in your own domestic market, critical minerals and energy will be essential, and therefore, Canada becomes that partner of choice.

But we need to have better coordination also to have a resilient, uh, supply chain.

You know, one thing that struck me enormously in those conversations in Stavanger was listening to Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, explain what are the three drivers of demand for electricity in the world.

First one, air conditioning.

Second one, data centers.

It was, you know, that's, that's just how I roll.

But of course, uh, Fatih Birol, who's, uh, you know, he's, he's almost as cheerful as his name sounds.

You know, he's a lovely guy.

He's the [laughs] executive director of the International Energy Agency.

I'm David Bach, your host.

Today, our guest is Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency.

In a time of so much focus on the role of energy, the explosion of demand due to AI, and limitations on supply due to geopolitics, I wanted to speak with Dr. Birol to understand what leaders have to know about the global energy market right now.

how energy functions as a weapon and what the closure of the Strait of Hormuz means in the long term, where we are in the transition to renewables, and why he believes that we're entering the age of electricity.

And also what Fatih Birol, who grew up in Turkey and is a passionate supporter of his hometown soccer club Galatasaray, thinks about the position of Europe and the race towards a sustainable future.

Here now is my conversation with Fatih Birol.

Can you give us sort of a big picture assessment? What are some of the key issues on the demand side and the supply side when it comes to energy globally that you think everyone should understand?

Now, energy is the lifeblood of the economy, our daily life, how we go to work, how we work at home.

It didn't happen this time, but maybe that ought to be something we ought to look at in a macro scenario." Uh, going forward, and here we are.

And, and it's kind of the, the reactive, well, you know, SPR and, uh, coming out of reestablishing the, uh, current policy scenario after a five, five-year absence from the, uh, global energy outlook, um, you know, it's, it's horses out of the barn type of behavior by particularly the executive director, Fatih Birol.

Uh, by the way, this is a great moment to talk about one of our sponsors, the IEA.

[laughs]