Brussels, 17/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - The upsurge of violence in the Middle East has to a certain extent eclipsed energy issues on the current affairs scene and was supposed to be the main topic at the Saint Petersburg summit where 15 of the 17 Heads of State and Governments from the G-8 were meeting up. Leaders from the eight most industrialised countries in the world, nevertheless, did adopt a declaration on “global energy security” but did not manage to conceal divergences on nuclear energy and climate change, or Russian reservations about ratifying the Energy Charter.
With current events as they stand, the G-8 was obliged on Sunday to look at the oil price hikes, which have been pretty spectacular since the Israeli offensive in Lebanon. In its final declaration on energy, the G8 acknowledges that “high and volatile oil prices' constitute a “serious problem”, which they would have to confront in order to meet the challenge of world energy supply. By going above the $78 a barrel price for the first time, this week, oil prices have more than tripled over the last four years and will constitute a real threat to world economic growth. Faced with a heating up in the Middle East conflict, made worse by uncertainties over Iraq and the difficult nuclear negotiations with Iran, G8 countries, the main energy consumers, strove to send out a strong political message affirming their commitment to continue efforts in energy saving, energy efficiency and making investments through the whole chain of supply and diversifying energy sources.
On this last point, the final G8 declaration makes specific mention of promoting renewable energies but most of the declaration focuses on nuclear power. To get Germany's support, which had decided to gradually phase out nuclear energy, and Italy, which will not be using it from the autumn, G8 members recognised in their common declaration that they will “pursue different ways to achieve energy security and climate protection goals” and recognised the “paramount importance of safety, security” of nuclear plants. The text indicates that “we are committed to: further reduce the risks associated with the safe use of nuclear energy”. The text also reaffirms the G8's commitment to “allow reliable access of all countries to nuclear energy on a competitive basis, consistent with non-proliferation commitment and standards”. As well as these differences on nuclear power, points of view also diverged on global warming. The final declaration leaves the freedom of choice to each of the G8 countries to carry out its own strategy, given that the Kyoto Protocol was not supported by all G8 members, particularly the US. The draft adopted on Sunday recognises that those who want to develop nuclear energies will contribute to global energy security and the fight against climate change. The final declaration underlines, “Those of us who have or are considering plans relating to the use and/or development of safe and secure nuclear energy believe that its development will contribute to global energy security, while simultaneously reducing harmful air pollution and addressing the climate change challenge”.
The Saint Petersburg meeting did not see any of the differences between the European Union and Russia over energy supply being ironed out - the issue is of particular importance in connection with relations on gas. Concerned by the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian gas conflict last January, which penalised a significant number of Union Member States (who temporarily became victims of gas delivery ruptures from Russia to the Ukraine), Europeans did manage to get the common G8 declaration to adhere, without mentioning this fact, to the Energy Charter principles elaborated in 1994 and which provides open access to resources and transport energy infrastructure to countries that ratified it. In their common declaration, G8 countries made a commitment to promoting, “open, transparent, efficient and competitive markets for energy production, supply, use, transmission and transit services as a key to global energy security”. They also made a commitment to, “transparent, equitable, stable and effective legal and regulatory frameworks, including the obligation to uphold contracts, to generate sufficient, sustainable international investments upstream and downstream”. Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom therefore obtained, on behalf of the European Union, strongly dependent on Russian energy, the recognition, by Moscow, in particular, of the principles it holds to so very dearly. These principles are now to be translated into reality as explained to the press by Commission president José Manuel Barroso.
Although it is still reluctant to ratify the Energy Charter and the additional protocol on transit (so as not to threaten Gazprom's monopoly on energy transport), Russian did succeed in getting the Charter to mention the need for producer countries to be able to invest in energy at an international level too. This reference constitutes a guarantee for Russia for greater security of demand and whose main public company Gazprom is coming up against barriers in gaining stakes in other energy distribution companies.