Christopher Frei was delivering a lecture at the headquarters of the International Energy Forum (IEF) in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Foreign diplomats and senior government officials were present to listen to Frei’s views on the challenges the global energy industry faces and how it is coping.

“Trade in energy and energy services are critical to economic development and international security and they need to be carried out without borders or other issues,” Frei said.

He insisted that governments should ensure that any carbon related border taxes do not inhibit the transborder movement of energy goods, services, capital or people.

“National carbon emission reduction measures are not to discriminate against foreign investments in energy infrastructure, including research and development.”

He called for global cooperation between higher and lower income countries and financing vehicles that promote technology transfer. He added that public acceptance of energy is imperative in the road to success.

WEC’s World Energy and Climate Policy Assessment Committee promotes the coordination and monitoring of effective policies to ensure energy security and mitigate climate change, he noted.

Frei became the fifth WEC secretary-general on April 1, 2009. Before that he worked at the World Economic Forum for many years following a distinguished academic career. Since 2006, he has worked as a professor of international energy policy and strategy at the EPFL, Switzerland.

WEC is the most encompassing industry organization in the world, with member committees in nearly 100 countries, including most of the largest energy-producing and energy-consuming countries.

Established in 1923, the organization covers all types of energy, including oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro and renewables.