Pedro Antonio Merino, Jordi Sevilla Segura, Nemesio Fernández-Cuesta and Paula María Álvarez
On 17 June 2025, the Rafael del Pino Foundation organised the dialogue "Energy and Competitiveness in Spain and Europe" with the participation of Pedro Antonio Merino, Jordi Sevilla Segura, Nemesio Fernández-Cuesta y Paula María Álvarez.
Pedro Antonio Merino holds a degree in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and an MBA from the Instituto de Administración de Empresas (IADE). He has been a Commercial Technician and State Economist (TCEE) since 1989. He has also taken several courses in international economics at CEMFI and Harvard. He is currently Director of Studies and Chief Economist at Repsol. In the financial field, he worked in the Directorate General of the Treasury and Financial Policy where he was Deputy Assistant Director of Public Debt and Deputy Director of Relations with International Monetary Organisations. He was also secretary of the Interministerial Commission for the introduction of the euro in the Public Administrations, advisor to the European Investment Bank (EIB), alternate member of the Monetary Committee of the European Union and advisor to the Executive Director for Spain at the International Monetary Fund. In 2000 he joined Repsol as Director of Studies and Chief Economist, where he has carried out and continues to carry out macroeconomic and energy forecasting and analysis, especially oil and gas, as well as advising on strategic issues and the geopolitical environment.Antonio is a member of the International Association of Energy Economists (IAEE), the American Association of Business Economists, the Oxford Energy Policy Club, the Spanish Economists Group, a reviewer for the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook and a member of the International Energy Forum's long-term energy forecasting analysis group.
Jordi Sevilla Segura is an economist from the University of Valencia and has been a civil servant in the Cuerpo Superior de Técnicos Comerciales y Economistas del Estado (Senior Corps of Commercial Technicians and State Economists) since 1983. He has held various positions in the public administration, including advisor for International Economic Relations in the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government (1985-1991), head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Agriculture (1991-1993) and director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Economy and Finance (1993-1996). He was a Member of Congress for Castellón (2000-2009) and Minister of Public Administration (2004-2007). In the private sector, he has been senior counselor at PwC (2009-2015) and vice-president at Llorente y Cuenca (2016-2018). He also chaired Red Eléctrica de España (2018-2020) and currently heads LLYC's Intelligence Unit.
Nemesio Fernández-Cuesta holds a degree in Economics from the Autonomous University of Madrid and is a member of the Corps of Commercial Technicians and State Economists. Throughout his career, he has combined senior public service with the management of large companies, especially in the energy sector. He began his professional career in the institutional sphere, holding various positions of responsibility in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as well as in international organisations. In the private sector, he has held top-level positions, most notably as Director General of Foreign Trade, Chairman of Empresa Nacional de Petróleos de España (ENPETROL), and Secretary of State for Energy and Mineral Resources in the 1990s. Subsequently, he joined Repsol, where he was Director General and later Executive Vice-President. He has also been chairman of the Spanish Electricity Industry Association (UNESA) and has served on several boards of directors of companies in the energy and industrial sector.
Paula María Álvarez is Energy and Business Editor at The World. Journalist specialising in energy, economics and the business sector. She has worked in leading media covering Spanish and international energy news. From The WorldThe report, which is part of the "Energy for Sustainable Development" programme, provides analysis and research on the role of large companies, energy policies and the transition to more sustainable models.
Summary:
Within the framework of its 25th anniversary, the Rafael del Pino Foundation organised the dialogue "Energy and competitiveness in Spain and Europe", a meeting in which the main challenges posed by the energy transition were analysed from the perspective of the economy, industrial policy and global geostrategy. The event was attended by Pedro Antonio Merino, Jordi Sevilla Segura, Nemesio Fernández-Cuesta and was moderated by Paula María Álvarez.
A new global energy order
Pedro Antonio Merino, Repsol's chief economist, stressed that the energy transition is redrawing the geopolitical map. If geo-strategy was previously defined around oil, today the control of critical minerals -such as graphite, lithium or rare earths- is key, and is strongly concentrated in China. "95% of the technologies needed for the energy transition originate in or depend on China," he warned. He also highlighted the enormous energy and environmental cost of the extraction and refining process of these materials.
Merino also warned of the technical limits of intermittent renewables and their impact on the stability of electricity systems. "Cheap electricity does not guarantee competitiveness if it is not firm and continuous. And today, many green technologies do not allow this without fossil or nuclear back-up.
Energy transition with economic realism
Nemesio Fernández-Cuesta, former Secretary of State for Energy, insisted that the energy transition must be adapted to technological and economic reality. "Europe cannot lead a global transformation with only 7% of emissions", he pointed out. In contrast to the European model based on the restriction and artificial increase in the price of fossil fuels, Fernández-Cuesta defended a strategy that prioritises electricity as a vector of competitiveness, with renewables well integrated into the system thanks to networks, storage and efficient demand management.
He also warned of the risks of "energy de-growth": "Transition cannot be synonymous with impoverishment. If there is no growth, there is no cohesion and no sustainability.
The April blackout, a symptom of an unbalanced transition
Jordi Sevilla, former minister and former president of Red Eléctrica, contextualised the recent electricity blackout on 28 April as a symptom of a poorly timed transition. "We have one of the best electricity systems in the world, but there has been no investment in grids or in adapting regulation to the new energy mix," he said. He also denounced the lack of synchronisation between renewable generation and demand, the lack of foresight on the part of the system operator and technical failures in power plants.
Sevilla advocated rethinking the timing of the transition, reinforcing infrastructures and avoiding the hasty closure of nuclear plants: "Spain cannot be the only country to close its plants when the rest of the world is once again betting on them".
Consensus, realism and industrial strategy
The debate concluded with a call for consensus and the design of an industrial strategy that recognises its own strengths - such as solar and wind resources - but also its limits. The urgency of matching climate ambition with industrial competitiveness and social cohesion was highlighted. "Energy must stop being hostage to political polarisation and be addressed as a matter of state", the speakers agreed.
The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for the comments, opinions or statements made by the people who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their sole responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the debates held at the meeting held for this purpose at the Foundation and are the responsibility of their authors.
The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for any comments, opinions or statements made by third parties. In this respect, the FRP is not obliged to monitor the views expressed by such third parties who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their own responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the discussions that took place during the conference organised for this purpose at the Foundation and are the sole responsibility of its authors.
