G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting
The G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting is due to be held in Rome on 24 and 25 May 2009. The overall title and theme of the meeting is: "Beyond the Crisis: Towards a New World Energy Order". The meeting's conclusions will be submitted to the Summit of Heads of State and Government leaders that is scheduled to be held in L'Aquila from 8 to 10 July.
The G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting, which is to be preceded by a forum for companies operating in the energy industry, will be attended by the ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States, and by the European Commissioner, together with ministers from the emerging economies in Asia, Latin America and Africa. They will be working together to address the new challenges spawned by the market globalization process.
Energy is the crucial factor in the planet's economic development. The aim of the Energy Ministers' Meeting is to devise shared strategies to address global climate change. The strategies should involve boosting cooperation among the various countries in the field of low carbon content technologies, harmonizing long-term energy policies, and coordinating flexible mechanisms for cooperation with the emerging economies and with the less developed countries.
Another aim is to promote investments in energy for security and sustainable development, in the context of the current economic and financial crisis. Once the situation of uncertainty is past, there is a danger that the energy supply may be insufficient, leading to high and unstable prices for energy raw materials. Thus it is necessary to intervene as of now, fostering dialogue between producer and consumer countries and promoting market transparency, an improvement in relations between international and national corporations, and international cooperation on technological innovation and research.
Further, the G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting also aims to devise tools capable of having an impact on energy poverty. It is estimated that over two billion people on the planet do not have access to commercial energy sources. The absence of energy prevents the formation of manufacturing systems integrated into the open economy, it fosters social instability and migration, it means that there is no drinking water available and that food cannot be kept for any length of time, and it makes it impossible to access modern means of communication and education. To help resolve these problems, the energy ministers will be discussing a potential action plan for rural electrification and a strategy for the development of large-scale continental energy networks, with special reference to Africa.
To address these challenges, the G8 energy ministers' meeting will, for the very first time, involve also the representatives of the world's leading corporations that operate in the energy industry.
The forum for these corporations - the Energy Business Forum, which is to precede the G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting - will take the shape of an informal discussion between the ministers and the managers of the world's leading energy companies on the measures that need to be adopted in order to facilitate and to relaunch investments. Another topic is the companies' role in the strategies designed to respond to global climate change. The businesses invited to the forum represent the main areas in the industry: oil and natural gas, renewable resources, nuclear energy, and advanced systems and technologies for coal
Agenda
The meeting will get under way on Saturday 23 May with a welcome meeting in the Salone degli Arazzi at the Ministry of Economic Development.
The meetings will be held at the Excelsior Hotel. The proceedings will start on Sunday morning 24 May with a forum attended by companies operating in the energy industry.
The first working session will follow, focusing on strategies designed to respond to global climate change.
On Monday 25 May, the second working session will be looking at investments in energy for security and sustainable development.
The third working session, in the afternoon, will be devoted to action against energy poverty: the case of Africa. This will be followed by the final news conference.
For further information please consult the following website www.g8energy2009.it
Energy G8 Documents - Source: Economic Development Ministry
3. Joint statement by the G8 Energy Minister and the European Energy Commissioner
