Leaders agree energy security must be priority
Print Edition
WORLD leaders agreed yesterday that energy security must become a G20 priority, noting that stability in the markets was “critical” to their growth.
The long-term stability of oil markets is seen as crucial to ensuring the success of reforms promised by the G20.
The summit in Brisbane had a session dedicated to global energy issues for the first time, with G20 members representing more than 80 percent of the world’s energy consumption, 60 percent of oil and gas production and over 90 percent of coal output.
“Increased collaboration on energy is a priority,” they said in a summit declaration. “Global energy markets are undergoing significant transformation. Strong and resilient energy markets are critical to economic growth.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the G20 has to build a partnership in energy cooperation, nurture a free and open global energy market with orderly competition and efficient supervision, jointly maintain stability of energy prices and market, improve energy efficiency, formulate and improve global energy governance principles so as to form a new cooperation pattern of equal negotiations and common development among consumer, producer and transit countries.
Xi also declared that China will release data of its oil stocks regularly.
The leaders asked energy ministers to meet and report back in 2015 on options that could feed discussions on reform of the international energy system.
“Energy is now at the heart of the G20’s agenda and G20 energy ministers will meet for the first time next year to take this work forward,” said Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The emergence of energy as a central G20 platform comes with oil prices falling well below US$80 per barrel. Global prices have collapsed by some 30 percent since June.
In a report to the G20 ahead of Brisbane, the International Monetary Fund said the “recent appreciable fall in oil prices, if sustained, will boost growth.”
But lower prices are hurting crude exporters, including Venezuela, Iran and G20 member Russia. The latter two are also struggling under Western sanctions.
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