Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar's energy minister sees his country supplying liquefied natural gas to Europe for decades, despite the EU's plans to pivot quickly to renewables in the wake of the Ukraine-related energy crisis.

Why it matters: This view confirms the anxiety among climate activists and some world leaders about locking in too much gas infrastructure.

Driving the news: European countries dependent on Russian gas to heat homes and power factories have been scrambling for alternative supplies and the infrastructure to receive them, and many are turning to tiny Qatar, a global gas powerhouse.

What they're saying: "Whether it's in the US and EU, in the Americas and Europe and Asia, gas is absolutely going to be needed for a very long time," Al-Kaabi said.

What we're watching: Al-Kaabi said the global community is heading into the next round of UN climate talks in Egypt after a year of emissions backsliding. This is largely due to geopolitical developments including the uneven covid recovery and the war in Ukraine.

The intrigue: He gave his own take on whether industrialized countries should set up a fund to compensate developing countries for the climate disasters they are already experiencing as a result of the developed world's emissions.

Yes, but: The creation of a loss and damage fund will be a major point of contention at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Our thought bubble: This response illustrates the difficulty negotiators will have in coming away from COP27 with a tangible funding mechanism, given a perceived first-mover disadvantage.