IEA participates in G20 energy ministerial meeting in Argentina

SAN CARLOS DE BARILOCHE – The International Energy Agency (IEA) joined energy chiefs from the Group of 20 (G20) countries to discuss and review the various ways to transition to a low-carbon economy under the G20 Presidency of Argentina.

The first G20 Energy Ministerial in Latin America brought together ministers of energy and natural resources and officials from G20 economies, as well as experts form international organizations, to discuss current global energy challenges and shared priorities. Discussions centred around multiple energy transitions, affordable access to energy and the role played by technological innovation.

Tim Gould, one of the two co-lead authors of the flagship World Energy Outlook, and Head of the IEA’s Energy Supply Outlook Division, delivered a keynote address at the Ministerial providing an overview of the IEA’s key messages on the future of the energy sector, from oil and gas markets, to renewables, greenhouse gas emissions and energy access.

Ahead of the Energy Ministerial, IEA officials also participated to the IGU Natural Gas Day, the World Energy Leaders’ Summit, the energy working group meeting of the Business20 (B20) and the second Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG).

During the gathering, the IEA underscored the need for global collaboration to deliver the emissions reductions targets demanded by the Paris Agreement and the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals. The IEA identified the key role of governments to spur change and provide stable investment conditions.

G20 countries recognised the IEA’s deep expertise and analysis on the challenges of the energy transitions. They welcomed the Energy Transitions report presented by the IEA under the lead of the Presidency, during the ETWG, which assesses countries’ energy transitions, and the Tracking Clean Energy Progress report launched by the IEA in May.

Power system flexibility, clean energy innovation, barriers to carbon capture, utilisation and storage, transparency and sharing of best practice were identified as key areas to accelerate the low-carbon transition. G20 countries also demonstrated great interest to increase collaboration with the IEA on energy efficiency and energy statistics.

The IEA has been collaborating closely with Argentina, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Argentina in March 2017 to increase cooperation on the G20 and a new bilateral programme on energy statistics.  

Argentina stressed the importance of data and digitalization to improve energy access and manage the energy transitions. The IEA has helped push forward the new G20 focus on energy data and digitalization, an area that has also benefited from the work of the International Renewable Energy Agency, the Latin American Energy Organization, and the International Energy Forum.

At the conclusion of the gathering, G20 countries adopted a consensus-driven Communique that acknowledged the central role of energy in promoting fair and sustainable development and the need to transform the world’s energy systems. The document also recognises energy security, technology innovation, energy data, and transparency as key areas to transition towards sustainable and cleaner energy systems.   

This year’s G20 under the lead of Argentina highlights the importance of Latin America for global energy collaboration, building on its strength in energy supply and the region’s success on energy access, regional integration and renewable energy auctions.

The IEA has been expanding its work with countries from Latin America, working closely with Mexico, which joined the IEA as a full member in February 2018, as well as with Chile, which is an Accession country, and Brazil, which recently joined the IEA Family as an Association country. A regional programme of statistics cooperation has been established with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank in cooperation with the IEA’s opposite number in the region, the Latin American Energy Organization, OLADE.