PARIS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The world faces a major challenge on the energy and economic front, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol warned on Thursday.

Birol made the remarks during a high-level energy transition dialogue jointly held by the presidency of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) and the IEA in Paris."The world is confronting with the most severe energy crisis in history," he said, adding that oil and gas markets will face serious disruptions.

For his part, COP31 President-designate Murat Kurum, also Türkiye's environment, urbanization and climate change minister, called for accelerating the shift toward clean energy, stressing that the global economy must change its energy model and speeding up the transition is the most crucial step.

Those seeking to keep the world hooked on fossil fuels are inadvertently supercharging the global expansion of renewable energy, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said, calling it an "immense irony."

The global natural gas market outlook has been significantly altered by the Middle East conflict following military actions by the United States and Israel against Iran, with a major supply shock disrupting market fundamentals, according to the IEA's latest quarterly gas market report.

Crude futures continued to rise amid reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had instructed aides and energy companies to prepare for a prolonged blockade of Iran's ports. On Wednesday as of 10 a.m. Eastern Time (1400 GMT), Brent crude oil futures for June delivery saw a high of 117.15 dollars per barrel, up 5.89 dollars or 5.29 percent from the settlement in the previous session. ■