G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting: "Governments and Business United Against the Crisis and Against Climate Change"
24/05/2009
Renewing cooperation between governments and forging an alliance with businesses in the industry to overcome the crisis, relaunching investments in major energy projects, and promoting the efficient use of energy by imparting a fresh thrust to the development and use of clean and sustainable technologies while paying special attention to climate change: those are the goals that the G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting, which is currently under way in Rome, has set itself. Some 23 ministers representing the world's most important economies - and accounting all together for over 80% of the world's energy supply and demand - will be holding talks for two days ahead of the G8 Summit in L'Aquila in July. The result of their talks, which is expected to be released tomorrow, "will be brought to the attention of the G8 summit in July to allow the heads of state to take them on board, and to allow them to become operational", Economic Development Minister Claudio Scajola explained.
The ministerial meeting, entitled: "Beyond the Crisis: Towards a New World Leadership in Energy", has set itself three goals: devising common strategies to tackle global climate change; promoting investments in energy security and sustainable development; and identifying measures capable of helping to slash energy poverty. It is precisely in connection with this last issue that the International Energy Agency, the IEA, has rung the alarm bell in the course of the talks. There are still 1.6 billion people in the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and in south Asia, who do not have access to electric power. And the report submitted by the agency to the G8 energy ministers' meeting adds that that number could well increase on account of the economic crisis. Indeed according to US Energy Association Director Barry Worthington, it may already have risen to 1.8 billion people.
Against the backdrop of the meeting, strong fears are also being voiced regarding the slowdown in investments caused by the price of oil, which has dropped again to the kind of low level that simply is not remunerative for future investments; and regarding other factors such as the credit squeeze which has been triggered by the economic crisis. That particular cause for concern emerged in the course of the first working session devoted to discussions with the world's 20 leading corporations in the energy industry. This is the first time that such discussions have been held in a G8 context. The corporations said that they are prepared to guarantee their commitment to maintaining investments at an appropriate level, but they also demanded incentives and a framework of clear-cut and definite ground rules.
The problem of the stabilization of the price of crude oil is thus one of the key topics at the meeting in Rome. "It is necessary to encourage market transparency and stability. Sustainable and balanced prices allows us to better conjugate economic growth with technological development and with environmental protection", Minister Scajola explained. This, because low prices may help to kick-start economic recovery but they discourage investments in energy efficiency, in renewable sources, and in cutting down emissions. "What is needed to overcome the crisis is an alliance between governments and businesses working in the energy industry", Scajola continued, highlighting the fact that the G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting "entrusts governments with the task of guaranteeing a framework of clear-cut and definite ground rules within which the industry can work; while it entrusts the industry with the task of guaranteeing investments".
The G8 Energy Ministers' Meeting also sees the launch of the "G8 Energy Regulators' Forum". This is the first meeting of regulatory bodies in the industry from all of the G8 member countries (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia). In the course of its discussions, it will be approving enlargement to include also the regulatory bodies of Brazil, Egypt, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Greece, as well as the nine most important international associations involved in the industry.
*Contributed by ANSA
