Brussels, 05/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - In the wake of the Ukrainian crisis and tension with Russia, the countries of the G7 (Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) agreed, on Thursday 5 June, to develop a medium-term strategy to diversify their sources of supply.
“The use of energy supplies as a means of political coercion or as a threat to security is unacceptable”, the G7 stresses, in a clear message sent out Russia. “The crisis in Ukraine makes plain that energy security must be at the centre of our collective agenda and requires a step change to our approach to diversifying energy supplies and modernising our energy infrastructure”, adds the final declaration of the Brussels summit.
The leaders of the G7 countries enshrined the initiative prepared in early May in Rome by their energy ministers. “We have given a mandate to our energy ministers to develop medium-term strategies to diversify sources”, summed up German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In the framework of this initiative, the G7 agrees to “identify and implement concrete domestic policies by each of our governments separately and together, to build a more competitive, diversified, resilient and low-carbon energy system”. This work will be based on the following key principles: development of flexible, transparent and competitive energy markets (including gas), the diversification of energy fuels, sources and routes, an encouragement of indigenous sources of energy supply, the modernisation of energy infrastructure, improving energy efficiency and developing green technology. The G7 also agrees to “improve energy system resilience by promoting infrastructure modernisation and supply and demand policies that help withstand systemic shocks”. Lastly, it agrees to set in place emergency response systems, including reserves and fuel substitution for importing countries, in the event of major energy disruptions, the leaders state.
On the basis of these principles, the G7 agrees to take immediate measures to complement the efforts of the European Commission to develop emergency energy plans for winter 2014-2015 at regional level, and to support the efforts of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to provide technical assistance to Ukraine and other European countries seeking to develop indigenous hydrocarbon resources and renewable energies and to improve their energy efficiency. The G7 countries will also conduct assessments of their energy security resilience and step up their joint efforts on critical infrastructure and transit routes. Working together with the Commission, the G7 calls on the IEA to present, by the end of 2014, options for individual and collective G7 actions in the field of gas security. Lastly, the G7 agrees to promote the use of low-carbon technologies (renewables, nuclear in the countries which opt to use it, and carbon capture and storage) and the integration of the liquefied natural gas market, including the development of storage capacities and LNG terminals. (EH, with AN/CG/MB)