G20 Energy Sustainability Working Group (Third Meeting)
Brisbane, Australia
The G20 Energy Sustainability Working Group (ESWG) met for the third and final time under the Australian presidency in Brisbane from 25-27 August. On 25 August, the Australian presidency organised a one-day workshop on energy access that featured presentations from professionals representing GIZ, Oxfam Australia, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the World Bank Group, Crawford School of Public Policy, CAT Projects, the International Gas Union (IGU), the Government of India's Energy Planning Commission and Peabody Energy Australia, among others. Discussions focused on concrete measures the G20 might consider taking to help advance the goal of universal energy access, opportunities and challenges related to energy infrastructure investment, energy access vis à vis the energy mix, and perspectives on the role of coal.
From 26-27 August, delegates from G20 member countries and observing countries, as well as representatives from international organisations including, the IEA, the International Energy Forum, the IGU, the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank Group discussed the G20’s work on the following energy-related topics:
- The state of the global energy architecture, including a discussion of the results of a related survey that was distributed to G20 member countries and various international organisations, including the IEF;
- The G20 energy principles, intended to guide future work on energy;
- The joint project between the China Energy Research Institute and the Grantham Institute on global energy governance;
- The first-ever G20-IEF Gas Dialogue, to be held on 11 November, immediately prior to the 4th IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum in Acapulco, Mexico;
- The final report on the implementation of the International Organization of Securities Commissions Principles for oil price reporting agencies (PRAs) and the IEA-IEF-OPEC survey designed to evaluate the impact of the PRA Principles on the physical oil market;
- The G20 action plan on energy efficiency;
- The G20's work on inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.
The next meeting of the G20 ESWG will take place in 2015 under the presidency of the Republic of Turkey.
