The chair of Italian oil and gas firm Eni has emphasized the importance of gas in the planet's energy transition.
The energy transition refers to a move from fossil-fuel based sources to ones such as solar and wind, a shift that is set to have a long lasting impact on economy and society.
Speaking to CNBC's Steve Sedgwick at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Emma Marcegaglia said the firm thought renewables were important but added that "gas will stay."
"As you know, now, 80% of the need of energy is coming from fossil fuels," she added. "We think that gas without methane fugitive… with no gas flaring, is absolutely something that we have to go on with because otherwise… the energy transition will not be there."
Asked about the practicality of clean gas at scale and a price that is competitive, Marcegaglia struck a positive tone, stating that it was possible and noting the drop in gas prices. At the moment, natural gas is trading at less than $2 per million British thermal units.
"There are already technologies… to have less methane fugitive and no gas flaring so I think gas is absolutely a possibility to… make a good transition, of course together with renewables, together with a lot of investment in technology, together with (a) circular economy," she explained.
"So I'm not saying that gas is the only one, but in our opinion you cannot think to make the transition without gas."
