OPEC Fund Quarterly - 2026 Q3

THE OPEC FUND IN THE WORLD

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Financing the next generation of energy systems

“From energy generation to transmission... we must make sure the whole system works.” Shaimaa Al-Sheiby, Vice President, Public Sector, OPEC Fund

An OPEC Fund Knowledge Series event examines the “trilemma” of expanding energy access, ensuring affordability and advancing just transition

OPEC Fund Knowledge Series, Vienna

E nergy powers development, yet nearly 700 million people worldwide still lack access to electricity. An OPEC Fund Knowledge Series event hosted with the World Bank in late May brought together leading experts and partners to explore how to close this gap and build the energy systems of the future. The OPEC Fund was pleased to welcome delegates from the African Development Bank, International Renewable Energy Agency, Sustainable Energy for All, World Bank and other partner institutions at its Headquarters. Opening the event, President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa emphasized the need for a more integrated approach to

energy development. “We need to move beyond individual projects and think in terms of integrated ecosystems instead,” he said. The President described today’s global energy challenge as a “trilemma”: expanding energy access, ensuring affordability and advancing a just transition. “For the transition to succeed, it must be inclusive – ensuring that developing nations are equipped with the financial resources and technology needed to build low-carbon economies without compromising their socioeconomic development,” he said. One prominent initiative addressing the challenge is Mission 300, a joint

program to provide energy access for 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. The OPEC Fund has pledged up to US$2 billion in support of the World Bank-led initiative. The Knowledge Series event focused on how to build energy systems that are secure, lasting and sustainable. OPEC Fund Vice President, Public Sector Shaimaa Al-Sheiby emphasized the importance of moving beyond isolated financing approaches: “These are complex questions, from energy generation to transmission, and we must make sure the whole system works.”