Combating energy poverty
92. Access to modern energy services is essential for human and social development, and for the achievement of the MDGs. Energy access and availability are tightly interlinked with the improvement of living conditions, both in rural and urban areas, providing for cleaner water, more effective sanitation and health services, better education systems and other essential services. Moreover, energy input for productive uses is crucial for job creation and income generation.
93. Noting that energy poverty remains widespread in many areas, most notably in Africa and Asia, we support the launch, together with interested countries, of the Expert-Level Working Group on Energy Poverty following the proposal made at the G8 Energy Ministers Meeting in Rome, and encourage it to submit a report before the 2010 Muskoka Summit. We are committed to take swift, resolute action, with developing country governments, international financial institutions, local communities and the private sector. Building upon previous commitments, we will:
a) promote the development of transparent national policies able to effectively use public resources and attract and stimulate private sector investments in rural electrification and the deployment of renewable energy systems and alternative cooking technologies and fuels;
b) encourage active involvement of local communities in rural electrification programmes, through the deployment of appropriate technologies and the development of skills and capabilities in cooperation with the private sector;
c) ensure that work to improve energy access contributes to put developing countries on the path to low-carbon development, by reducing high carbon lock-in, as well as supporting exploitation of new technologies, improved energy security and off-grid access in remote areas;
d) enhance capacity building initiatives, aimed at increasing energy efficiency, diffusion of renewable energies and efficient use of natural resources;
e) enhance capacity building initiatives for the sustainable development and deployment of oil, natural gas and electricity regional energy networks;
f) stimulate the mobilisation of increased financing for energy access, including through the improvement of investment conditions.
From the international economy section of the G8 statement:
Green recovery
39. The emergency response to the economic crisis should not overlook the opportunity to facilitate a global green recovery putting our economies on a path towards more sustainable and resilient growth. Our fiscal stimulus packages are increasingly investing in measures encouraging the creation of green jobs and low-carbon, energy efficient and sustainable growth. These include energy efficiency measures, investment in public transportation infrastructure, incentives for fuel-efficient vehicles, research in alternative sources of energy, support for renewable energy technologies, as well as in enhanced CO2 reduction, recycling and disposal such as Carbon Capture and Storage. We remain committed to enhance the environmental dimension of budgetary measures and to reinforce efforts to promote clean energy and energy efficiency. Along with the ongoing WTO negotiations on the liberalization of environmental goods and services, we will intensify efforts to make progress on the reduction or elimination of trade barriers on a voluntary basis on goods and services directly linked to addressing climate change, as agreed at the Toyako Summit. At the same time, we will ensure proper regulatory and other frameworks facilitating transition towards low-carbon and resource efficient growth. In this light, we call for a reduction of subsidies that artificially encourage carbon-intensive energy consumption.
Energy security, global energy markets and investment climate in the energy sector
40. The current financial and economic crisis should not delay cost-effective investments or programmed energy projects that would create jobs, enhance energy security and help limit greenhouse gas emissions in the short and medium term. We urge all countries and the private sector to adopt a long-term view in planning their investments. We are committed to promoting economic recovery together with a significant change in investment patterns that will accelerate the transition towards low-carbon, energy efficient growth models. We especially encourage more rapid application of the many cost-effective technologies already available to improve the energy efficiency of power generation facilities, buildings, industry and transport. Accelerated investment in low-carbon technologies is needed to minimize the existing and potential carbon lock-in represented by capital stock in buildings, factories, vehicles and electric power generating facilities.
41. In this context, we reaffirm our strong commitment to implement the St Petersburg Principles on Global Energy Security in our countries and call on others to join us in this effort. We invite the major international energy organisations to review and update their programmes and promote them in light of the changing energy challenges.
42. Unpredictable energy markets and highly volatile prices put at risk the ability of the industry to plan and implement investments in new infrastructures, consistently with long term demand dynamics. It is in the interest of both producers and consumers to enhance transparency and to strengthen their dialogue towards reducing excessive volatility in the market. Fossil fuel producing, transit and consuming countries must work together to increase stability and predictability of supply and demand patterns and promote investments in the energy sector, including by supporting and developing further predictable legal and regulatory frameworks. We welcome the progress made and the follow up initiatives of the Jeddah and London Energy Meetings in identifying obstacles to efficient energy markets. We call for better coordination among the international institutions and for the acceleration and strengthening of the existing initiatives towards a more structured dialogue, based on the outcome of the London Energy Meeting, between producing, transit and consuming countries, focused on improving the investment climate, discussing ways to reduce excessive volatility of prices and promoting energy security. To this effect we support the important work undertaken by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Energy Forum (IEF), including the activities of the High Level Steering Group of the IEF. We ask experts within the IEF to assess different options to reduce excessive volatility in oil prices.
43. Besides stable and predictable regulatory frameworks, transparent and well-functioning energy markets are essential prerequisites for reducing investment risks and uncertainties both in producing and consuming countries. We therefore emphasise the need for timely and reliable data on demand, supply, stocks, spare capacity and investment plans. To this end, we continue to strongly support the Joint Oil Data Initiative (JODI), managed by the IEF, and call for all countries to cooperate in improving quality, completeness and timeliness of data. We also strongly support the IEF’s work on initiating the collection of annual data on investment plans. We believe that greater transparency in gas markets is required. We therefore call upon the IEF to examine the possibility of extending JODI-type activities to natural gas.
44. We encourage international initiatives to improve market transparency and functioning and to address excessive price volatility in commodities markets. In particular, we welcome recommendations by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on regulation and supervision of financial derivative markets, and underline the importance of accelerating their implementation by national authorities and further cooperation between them and ask all countries to implement IOSCO’s recommendations. We ask the IOSCO Task Force on Commodity Markets to consider further possible specific improvements to the transparency and market supervision of oil futures markets and make specific recommendations.
Chuck Norris on Copenhagen
Obama headed to Copenhagen, sets the bar for success
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