“Ethical Markets welcomes this IEA initiative and Dr. Fatih Birol’s re-appointment. More still to do in EU and North America on greater efforts to reduce wasteful usage of fossil energy.
We have all the technological tools to accelerate the shift to renewables. Now let’s step up civic and democratic responsibilities to turn our thermostats down for greater savings.
Only the shift to renewables can stop Putin and address climate disasters! See my “Dawn of a New Era“.
~Hazel Henderson, Editor“
At historic ministerial meeting, IEA Ministers strengthen our focus on clean energy, climate and energy security
Energy leaders from around the world gathered in Paris for the 2022 IEA Ministerial Meeting on 23 and 24 March, sending a strong message of unity on the need to strengthen energy security, reduce market volatility and accelerate clean energy transitions worldwide.
Chaired by US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, the two-day meeting of energy and climate ministers representing more than 40 governments from around the world took place amid the severe energy market turmoil and energy security concerns triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month. Yaroslav Demchenkov, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Energy for European Integration, attended the meeting in person as a special guest, and Ukrainian Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko participated virtually.
Ministers from IEA member countries approved a series of new mandates for our Agency covering areas such as ensuring energy security during the clean energy transition and leading the global energy sector’s fight against climate change, with a notable emphasis on expanding the IEA’s work on the critical minerals needed for clean energy technologies. The Agency also received a significant funding boost from governments to enable it to significantly scale up its work supporting the global transition to clean energy, especially in emerging economies.
“The energy world is changing fast and needs to change faster still,” our Executive Director Fatih Birol said at the meeting. “The IEA is ready to support the twin goals of energy security and the clean energy transition, and I’m delighted that our Member Countries, under the leadership of Secretary Granholm, are giving us the responsibilities and the resources to tackle the major challenges of our time.”
At side events, ministers discussed how to ensure that clean energy transitions are people centred, how to eliminate policy and regulatory barriers to clean energy technologies, and how the international community can help Africa tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities of the shift to clean energy.
At a breakout session on critical minerals, ministers and business leaders discussed practical actions that government and industry can pursue to ensure reliable and sustainable supply of critical minerals. They also called for a strengthened role for the IEA to enhance mineral security in view of the new mandate and discussed how countries and industry can support this.
The Ministerial Meeting was also the opportunity to welcome Lithuania as our 31st Member Country, and Argentina and Egypt as the latest emerging economies to become IEA Association countries.
Read the press release as well as the Ministers’ communiqué and statement strongly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. You can also rewatch some of the key discussions from the Ministerial Meeting that were livestreamed.