Further investments in environment-friendly natural gas are essential to achieve energy equality for all parts of the world in a sustainable manner. 
This is of particular significance as the global economy moves from under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in shortage of gas in Europe and Asia among other regions of the world. 
Natural gas is the cleanest of fossil fuels and a cheap, abundant, and flexible source of energy. 
According to the Doha-headquartered Gas Exporting Countries Forum, natural gas is on course to become the leading fossil fuel in the world by 2050, increasing its share from 23% today to 27% in the global energy mix.
At the recently-concluded Conference of Parties (COP26), several world leaders backed gas as the harbinger to their nations’ economic and sustainable development. 
Natural gas, including LNG will continue to play a pivotal role in attaining Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 7, as well as in mitigation of climate change in line with the Paris Agreement.
As an Observer to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the GECF had urged the international community in Glasgow to look to gas as the solution to achieve the right balance between post-Covid-19 economic and social requirements and environmental constraints.
At the 23rd Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the GECF Members acknowledged that decarbonisation of economies should be approached with careful consideration to hasty acceleration of greening of economies lest the climate agenda turns into an energy crisis. 
While noting that high gas prices are not in the interest of buyers or the sellers, the GECF Members reiterated the fundamental role of longterm gas contracts and the gas pricing based on oil/oil-products indexation to ensure stable investments in the development of natural gas resources.
GECF reiterated concerns in regards to unilateral restrictions on economic and energy cooperation and barriers to trade and investments in energy and energy-related goods that hinder robust recovery and mitigation of climate change.
The forum said it is fully prepared to engage in meaningful dialogue with natural gas and LNG consumers with a view to find ways to bolster the efficiency, stability, and transparency of the gas markets.
The recent developments prove that a balanced approach to all types of energy resources and maintaining reliable and economically viable baseload electricity generation with modern natural gas power stations are essential for energy security and proper functioning of the global energy market in the face of growing energy consumption. 
With this in mind, GECF acknowledged that the decarbonisation of economies should be approached with careful consideration as hasty action may turn the climate agenda into an energy crisis.
Undoubtedly, reducing the carbon footprint of the energy sector will contribute significantly towards global economic and sustainable development. 
Energy experts including GECF say the solution lies in the development of new advanced technologies in the gas industry to manage and mitigate emissions while ensuring energy systems resilience.