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G20 Summits • 2015 Antalya Summit • Energy Ministers

Communiqué: G20 Energy Ministers Meeting

Istanbul, October 2, 2015

We, the G20 Energy Ministers, meeting for the first time as mandated by our Leaders in Brisbane, affirm our commitment to inclusive energy collaboration in order to help address the energy challenges of today and those of the future. Recognizing the importance of energy collaboration, G20 Leaders endorsed last year the G20 Principles on Energy Collaboration (Principles) and requested that we meet and report on options to take this work forward. We welcome the progress made under the Turkish Presidency in addressing the Principles through the consideration of energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy, market transparency, and the rationalization and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, recognizing the need to support the poor. We declare our commitment to support the implementation of all Principles through the G20 in the years ahead.

Access to Energy for All

1. We recognize that more than 1.1 billion people live without access to electricity, many of which live in remote and disadvantaged regions, and around 2.9 billion people rely on the traditional use of biomass for cooking. Energy access is a critical factor to achieve a better quality of life, to overcome poverty and to improve global economic performance. The lack of modern energy access acts as a severe obstacle to economic growth and social development in many countries. We welcome the inclusion within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the Goal to "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all". We will collaborate to move this goal forward. The development of a balanced, clean, affordable, viable and reliable energy mix is vital for sustainable development.

2. We adopt the G20 Energy Access Action Plan: Voluntary Collaboration on Energy Access, the first phase of which focuses on enhancing electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa where this problem is most acute. We welcome the discussions held with African Energy Ministers at the Conference on Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa on 1 October. We recognize the importance of a conducive enabling environment for increased investments and sustainable growth of the power sector, taking into account national circumstances, including available indigenous energy sources, needs and priorities. We are committed to strengthening G20 coordination and activities on energy access through the Plan, which establishes a long term voluntary cooperation framework. We will work together with SE4All, its Africa Hub, and other initiatives and donors, cooperating and collaborating with other relevant international and regional institutions and Sub- Saharan African countries on policy and regulatory environments, technology development and deployment, investment and finance, capacity building, regional integration and cooperation, taking into consideration national needs and contexts. We stress the need for public-private partnerships, stakeholder alliances and strong political commitment to energy access. We recognize the regulators' contribution to energy access and encourage increased communication and cooperation among regulatory authorities. We also welcome and support the African led Renewable Energy Initiative as put forward at the African Union Summit in June 2015 which aims at accelerating access to renewable energy in Africa and reducing energy poverty.

International Energy Institutions

3. We recognize the contribution of the G20 itself to furthering coordination and cooperation among international and regional energy institutions and its effectiveness facilitating a variety of international organizations to work together. We are supportive of continuing our work with international and regional organizations in an inclusive manner and we welcome their increased collaboration. We will also work together to make international energy institutions more representative and inclusive of emerging and developing economies while taking into consideration the specific objectives and mandates of international institutions and we note the ongoing processes for this purpose.

Market Transparency

4. We believe that transparent and competitive energy markets are a prerequisite for energy security and encouraging investment. To promote market transparency and efficiency, we commit to further strengthen the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) by encouraging and facilitating the collection and dissemination of high quality energy data, as well as enhancing support for capacity building. We note the Second Price Reporting Agencies (PRA) Review Report prepared by IOSCO in collaboration with IEA, IEF and OPEC and the Joint IEA-IEF-OPEC Reports on the Market Impact of IOSCO Principles that together highlight the progress achieved on the functioning of PRAs through cooperation and transparency, and we stand ready to monitor continued progress in this effort. We also welcome the joint work of the IEA, IEF and OPEC to further understand energy outlooks and the interaction between physical and financial markets and encourage them to continue with their fruitful collaboration on market transparency. We support efforts to improve the functioning of energy markets, including gas markets. We also acknowledge the importance of public disclosure of market related information on all energy resources.

Energy Security

5. We emphasize the need for sustainable energy security, given the dynamic and uncertain energy landscape today, and our commitment to the improvement and enhancement of energy security through cooperation and dialogue on issues such as emergency response measures. We stress the importance of diversification of energy sources. We support continued investments in the energy sector, taking into account the importance of current investments for ensuring future energy security.

Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies that Encourage Wasteful Consumption

6. We welcome the progress being made by a number of countries to rationalize and phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, which may lead to a reduction in the associated market distortions and environmental damage while taking into account vulnerable groups and their development needs. We encourage the efforts underway in some G20 countries as described in the country progress reports, and the peer review process which is now in place. We encourage more G20 countries to join the peer review process. In the light of the commitment in 2009 and beyond to rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while providing targeted support for the poorest, we will endeavor to make enhanced progress in moving forward this commitment in future G20 meetings. We note the update paper on recent progress in reforming inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, prepared by the IEA and OECD in consultation with the World Bank, IEF and OPEC.

Energy Efficiency

7. We recognize the benefits of energy efficiency, including lower costs for households and businesses, greater economic productivity and growth, strengthened energy security, and improved environmental outcomes. We acknowledge the need for substantial improvement in countries´ energy efficiency performances. We therefore welcome the important progress achieved in 2015 in the implementation by participating countries of the G20 Energy Efficiency Action Plan: Voluntary Collaboration on Energy Efficiency. We welcome the Report on the Voluntary Implementation of the Energy Efficiency Action Plan prepared by the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) in cooperation with other international organizations and participating countries of the workstreams.

We agree to further support on a voluntary basis the 2015 outcomes of the existing workstreams on efficiency and emissions performance of vehicles, particularly heavy duty vehicles, networked devices, buildings, industrial processes and electricity generation, as well as financing for energy efficiency. In this regard, we welcome the Voluntary Energy Efficiency Investment Principles for G20 participating countries. We will further consider potential areas for future voluntary collaboration that increase energy efficiency in our economies. We agree in addition to further work to ensure that the Plan has a long term perspective.

Renewable Energy

8. We emphasize the importance of renewables and its potential long-term growth. Renewable energy use is on the rise and this trend is expected to continue in the future. We recognize that, while markets, technologies and policies vary from country to country, enhancing renewables investments through innovation, risk mitigation and the deployment of conducive policy frameworks, in accordance with national priorities and contexts, can contribute to an environmentally sound, socially and economically sustainable development path.

9. We adopt the G20 Toolkit of Voluntary Options on Renewable Energy Deployment, which sets out useful options for further work, and we take note of the background report prepared by IRENA in cooperation with IEA and other relevant international organizations. We highlight the importance of innovation, technologies, and knowledge sharing to encourage the increased uptake of renewables in the energy mix, and the central role played by system integration, and by stable national policy and regulatory frameworks, with the understanding of existing specific national circumstances.

Innovative Energy Technologies, including clean energy technologies

10. We acknowledge the importance of innovative energy technologies to deliver secure, affordable, reliable, viable and sustainable energy in a challenging energy world. We recognize the important role of the private and public sectors in making the investments and developing the technologies and good practices needed to enhance productivity, efficiency and sustainable development. We also support continued investment in research and development, demonstration and the deployment of innovative energy technologies across a broad range of energy sources, including clean energy technologies. In addition we support increased international coordination on clean energy research and development. Such actions can enhance energy security, boost economic growth, create jobs and business opportunities, support greater levels of energy access and provide environmental benefits.

Climate Change

11. We recognize that 2015 is a critical year to take strong and effective action to tackle climate change and its effects and that actions on energy, including improving energy efficiency and increasing investments in clean energy technologies will be important. In this regard, we welcome the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) that have been submitted thus far. We support the work of the UNFCCC as the primary international intergovernmental body for negotiating climate change and we are working together to achieve a positive and balanced outcome at COP 21 in Paris in December 2015.

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We will present this Communiqué to the G20 Antalya Summit for our Leaders' consideration of these matters and agree to meet in China in 2016 to continue to take forward our work on the Principles.