Rome G7 Energy Initiative for Energy Security

Ministerial and Other Meetings | G8 Energy Ministers | Road to the 2014 G7 Brussels Summit

G7 Rome Energy Ministerial Meeting, Joint Statement
Rome, May 6, 2014

We, the Energy Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the EU Commissioner for Energy, following The Hague Declaration of G7 Leaders of March 24th, met in Rome on May 5th and 6th to discuss ways to strengthen collective energy security.

We issue the following joint statement for Leaders' consideration, in view of the G7 Summit to be held in Brussels on June 4-5, 2014.

1. Recent events highlight the need to address energy security challenges. Energy should not be used as a means of political coercion nor as a threat to security. Energy disputes should be solved through dialogue based on reciprocity, transparency and continued cooperation. We are extremely concerned by the energy security implications of developments in Ukraine, as a consequence of Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

2. We are committed to initiate a systematic and enduring step change to improve energy security at national, regional and global levels. And we remain united in our determination to provide various types of assistance that Ukraine needs to strengthen its energy security.

3. We believe that a broader energy security strategy is needed to address the larger dimensions of today's globalized energy markets shared among energy consumers, producers and transit countries. Energy security is a collective responsibility, a core component of our economic and national security that is inherently linked to the energy security of our allies, partners and neighbors. In this respect, we stand ready to pursue discussions and cooperation with European and international partners, in all appropriate fora, including the G20 and in coordination with the European Union.

4. Addressing energy security requires immediate measures and decisions at both the national and regional levels, in order to address short, medium and long term challenges. We believe that the path to energy security is built on a number of core principles:

Development of flexible, transparent and competitive energy markets, including gas markets.
Diversification of energy fuels, sources and routes, and encouragement of indigenous sources of energy supply.
Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerating the transition to a low carbon economy, as a key contribution to enduring energy security.
Enhancing energy efficiency in demand and supply, and demand response management.
Promoting deployment of clean and sustainable energy technologies and continued investment in research and innovation.
Improving energy systems resilience by promoting infrastructure modernization and supply and demand policies that help withstand systemic shocks.
Putting in place emergency response systems, including reserves and fuel substitution for importing countries, in case of major energy disruptions.

5. In the long term, it is vital to ensure diversification of the energy mix. Recognizing that fossil fuels still remain an important element of our energy mix, we believe that reducing emissions from fossil fuels is necessary to tackle climate change and can enhance our energy security. We intend to promote the use of low carbon technologies (renewable energies, nuclear in the countries which opt to use it, and carbon capture and storage) including those which work as a base load energy source.

6. Energy efficiency needs to be further addressed by proactive policies in industry, in all kinds of power generation, transport, and the building and household sectors, through cooperation to deploy energy efficient technologies and the development of necessary, including financial, capabilities. We support the removal of barriers that limit the diffusion of energy efficient technologies by means of enhanced cooperation with international organizations and international fora.

7. In the medium term, the diversification of sources and routes for fossil fuels is essential. No country should depend totally on one supplier. We intend to promote a more integrated LNG market, including through new supplies, the development of transport infrastructures, storage capacities, and LNG terminals. We support the opening of new routes to supply energy, in particular the Southern Corridor, as a route for possible other sources of supply for Europe. We will further promote flexible gas markets, including relaxation of destination clauses and producer-consumer dialogue.

8. Energy security must include timely investment to supply energy in line with economic developments and environmental needs. Some investments in infrastructure, needed to increase security of supply, and that cannot be built according to market rules, could be supported by regulatory frameworks or by means of public funding.

9. We recall the importance of efforts to protect critical energy infrastructure, including from cyber attacks, of protecting the transit routes and the transport of LNG and oil by ships, of continuing in the joint efforts to ensure the freedom and safety of navigation on the sea lines of communications including through counter-piracy operations.

10. Consistent with our longer term climate change goals, we will take opportunities to strengthen energy security and economic growth through safe and sustainable development of oil and natural gas resources from conventional and unconventional sources, recognizing that it is for individual countries to choose which sources they wish to develop.

11. We welcome the recent signature in Bratislava of the Memorandum of Understanding and the Interconnection Agreement for reverse flows between Slovakia and Ukraine.

12. We welcome the efforts of the European Commission to identify possible routes for reverse flow from entry points in existing gas infrastructures, to develop emergency plans for winter 2014-2015 at regional level, and to launch a coordinated action to increase the transparency of gas flows through the Ukrainian network.

13. We welcome the efforts of the European Commission to define a list of priority projects among Projects of Common Interest and Projects of Energy Community Interest to enhance the energy security of Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.

We have also agreed to take these immediate actions:

G7 members will work to complement the efforts of the European Commission to develop energy emergency plans for winter 2014-2015 at a regional level.
Experts from G7 and other invited countries will exchange best practices for assessing energy security vulnerabilities.
We ask the International Energy Agency, in close relation with the European Commission, to present within six months options for individual and collective actions of the G7 in the field of gas security.
Working with institutions such as the IEA, the International Renewable Energy Agency and international financial institutions, we will supply technical assistance, including leveraging the private sector, and facilitate exchanges with Ukraine and other European countries seeking to develop their indigenous hydrocarbon resources and renewable energies, and improve energy efficiency.

We also agree to sustain our engagement for the medium and long term.

We propose to G7 Leaders to establish a working group to develop comprehensively the Rome G7 Energy Initiative and to report back to Ministers within six months.

Rome, 6th May 2014

Source: European Union Press Releases

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