Brussels, 09/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - Meeting under the Japanese presidency on 8 June in Aomori, with their counterparts from China, South Korea and India, G8 energy ministers (Germany, Canada, US, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and Russia) expressed their “serious concerns” about the current oil price levels and called for an increase in production, faced with the risks of world recession. These eleven countries, which account for two thirds of global energy consumption, also agreed on the urgency of increasing investment in the energy sector to develop oil production and try and put a brake on price hikes and crude oil prices, which have gone up by five times the 2003 level and reached a new record on 6 June: $138.54 dollars the barrel. They believe that there should be increased investment in their own nation al production (Canada, US and Russia, being big crude oil producers) as well as in other producer countries. The eleven biggest economic powers in the world did, however, recognised that tension over prices was also due to long term structural factors such as increased demand. The Organisation of Petrol Exporting Countries (OPEC), which accounts for 40% of word production, has so far refused to increase production, judging that price increases were due to speculation and not to a supply shortage. The Japanese energy minister, Akira Amari, nevertheless warned that, “If we leave this situation as it is, it could lead to a recession of the world economy”. Meeting participants also set up an International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) where they can exchange experiences. (E.H./transl. rh)