Unprecedented events – the global coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), the climate emergency and the turbulence in global energy markets, resulting from the Russian Federation’s (hereafter, “Russia”) invasion of Ukraine – have shocked the world in 2022. Unprecedented challenges, stemming from the triple global crisis require extraordinary actions to foster solidarity and fight the first and largest global energy crisis.

In 2022, the G20’s lead on energy security and solidarity is more important than ever. Even before these events, the G20 has discussed and tackled a variety of related issues, proposing solutions and calls for action. In 2021 energy ministers at the G20 Ministerial in Naples, Italy, agreed on the G20 Naples Principles, which give guidance on collaboration towards maintaining and improving energy security during energy transitions.

The objective of this report is to update and deepen the analysis, based on the G20 Naples Principles and with a specific focus on ways of maintaining and improving energy security during the current global energy crisis. It provides a series of recommendations to allow G20 countries to achieve secure clean energy transitions through important near-term actions which are aligned with long-term goals.

Importantly, G20 countries have pledged net zero emissions by or around mid-century (see figure below). In the long term, accelerating clean energy transitions will support energy security as it will reduce the need for fossil fuel imports and consumption.

In the short term, there is a need to maintain energy security and rebalance supply and demand of energy by reducing demand and increasing supply, maximising the existing infrastructure, while radically reducing emissions of oil, gas and coal. This will help decrease pressure on global energy markets and prices.

In March and April 2022, IEA member countries agreed to take collective action to release oil from their strategic reserves; the largest collective actions in the history of the IEA. IEA members underscored their strong and unified commitment to stabilising global energy markets, which was welcome by many G20 members. As these collective actions show, international collaboration and concrete actions are critical in ensuring the stable supply of energy, notably for developing economies.

As underlined by the IEA report, Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, energy security becomes even more important on the way to net zero. Governments and industry must boost preparedness and resilience in the face of new and more frequent threats beyond traditional energy infrastructure disruption, such as cyberattacks and extreme weather events, particularly with regard to electricity infrastructure. The establishment of reliable and cost-effective supply chains for clean hydrogen and ensuring the adquacy of the global supply of critical minerals to meet the demand from ramping up clean energy technologies is part and parcel of achieving secure clean energy transitions.

This report analyses the importance of energy efficiency in emerging economies in light of the cost of living crisis. It then discusses the importance of enhancing access to affordable and reliable electricity, touching on elements including faster deployment of a broad portfolio of renewable energy and ways to secure the integration of higher shares of variable renewables while boosting electricity security. Chapter 3 deals with how to strengthen preparedness, focusing on oil and gas security, the importance of which has been even more widely recognised amid the current crisis and high energy prices. The next chapter touches on the role of low-carbon fuels with a special focus on hydrogen, bioenergy and ammonia, which are the driving force behind accelerated clean energy transitions. Chapter 5 discusses the issue of existing fossil fuel infrastructure and the role of repurposing today’s sites to maintain dispatchable generation. Efficient and economic clean energy transitions entail not only optimising the usage of fossil fuel infrastructure, but also addressing the possibility of transforming existing assets for other uses. The final chapter evaluates the role of critical minerals in clean energy transitions. The security of their supply, production and availability will be fundamental for accelerating clean energy transitions.

G20 economies are the drivers of global economic recovery as well as finance and investment. In the current high fuel price environment, governments need to rely on what worked well, quickly scale up such best practice policies, and avoid locking in new high-carbon infrastructure.

The focus of this year’s Indonesia G20 Presidency is on the near-term actions up to 2030, with three core priorities. Indonesia looks to make progress in reaching universal energy access by 2030, scaling the deployment of clean energy technologies and increasing finance and investment, while employing an inclusive approach for the society at large and developing economies in particular.

The elements discussed in this report address a number of the issues created by the global energy crisis, but cannot address all of them. More will emerge and need to be solved as clean energy transitions accelerate, and the international community, including the G20, will continue to tackle them to achieve the goal of a net zero energy system. Enhanced international collaboration on energy security as part of clean energy transitions is, and continues to be, at the heart of the G20.