Gulf oil ministers rose to defend fossil fuels as the bedrock of world energy supplies yesterday even as some clean-energy proponents forecast the arrival of a post-petroleum world.

Ministers from Qatar and the UAE told the World Future Energy Summit that clean energy would complement, rather than replace oil and natural gas.

Their comments clashed with predictions from others at the conference that continued growth in consumption of fossil fuels and resulting carbon emissions will cause unstoppable climate change, and the world must move quickly to replace the use of oil in transport and heating.

Abdullah al Attiyah, the Qatari minister of energy and deputy premier, forcefully pushed back against what he said was an attempt to “scapegoat” fossil fuels producers.

“Why did Copenhagen fail? It’s because when you go there you feel that someone is trying to create a scapegoat,” he said, referring to last month’s climate talks in the Danish capital. “You try to blame oil and gas producers.”

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