GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION NOW COULD ALTER WORLD’S UNSUSTAINABLE ENERGY
PATH
Geneva, 12 December 2006 -- The world is currently on an unsustainable
energy path, but prompt government intervention could alter this. This
is the message delivered to delegates during UNECE’s high-level discussions
on global energy security at the annual session of the Committee on Sustainable
Energy, 28-30 November.
Marek Belka, Executive Secretary of the UNECE, opened the proceedings highlighting
that global energy security has without question returned to the top of the
economic agenda. During the keynote presentations the views of Claude Mandil,
Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Andrey Reus,
Deputy Minister for Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation and Stanislav
Tsygankov , Director of the International Business Department of JSC “Gazprom”,
were heard.
Claude Mandil drew attention to the key energy-related challenges facing
the world; the lack of adequate and secure supplies of energy at affordable
prices and the environmental damage resulting from the current and growing
energy consumption levels. He then stressed the need for government policy
action or intervention in a number of key areas, including promoting investment
to boost capacity; improving energy efficiency; increasing reliance on non-fossil
fuels; ensuring adequate energy diversity; improving data transparency and
sustaining the domestic supply of oil and gas within net energy importing
countries. The IEA was created 32 years ago to address energy security issues
after the first oil shock and the issue remains a key concern for its 26 member
countries in their efforts to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy
for their citizens. The IEA is also the author of the annual World Energy
Outlook, a publication read with considerable interest by governments and
the international energy community alike.
In hearing from Andrey Reus, it was clear that the energy policy of the
Russian Federation not only has a determining impact on the energy situation
and energy environment within the Russian Federation, but also has an impact
on the energy trading partners of the Russian Federation, i.e. most UNECE
member countries. The policies and practices of the Russian Federation can
materially affect the energy options available to other UNECE countries since
it is a country endowed with very significant reserves and resources of fossil
fuels – petroleum, natural gas and coal.
A consumer-producer dialogue is an essential component of the global
energy security debate. Gazprom is a key player in this dialogue since
it is the largest producer of natural gas in the world and a major exporter
of natural gas to eastern, central and western Europe. Stanislav Tsygankov
clearly delivered the views of an energy producer, particularly in terms
of identifying the critical need for certainty when making investment decisions
and for transportation infrastructure to be separated from production and
marketing operations i.e. ownership unbundling. Understanding the commercial
policy of a company such as Gazprom is essential for anyone interested
in the energy security of the UNECE region.
The meeting, which was attended by over 230 delegates from some 37 UNECE
member States, then involved a series of thematic sessions focussing on
the following key areas of the UNECE energy work programme and how they
each facilitate sustainable energy development and hence increased energy
security:
- Emerging Energy Security Risks and Risk Mitigation;
- Investment and Regulation in the Electric Power Sector;
- Energy Efficiency, Import Dependence and Climate Change;
- Global Harmonization of Energy Reserves and Resources Terminology:
The Key to Maximizing Energy Reserves;
- Mitigating Environmental and Social Consequences of Coal Use; and
- Natural Gas: Transition Fuel to Cleaner Energy Consumption Patterns.
For further information on the meeting or the work of the UNECE Committee
on Sustainable Energy, please contact Charlotte Griffiths ([email protected])
and/or visit http://www.unece.org/ie/
Ms. Charlotte Griffiths
UNECE Sustainable Energy Division
Palais des Nations, Bureau 374
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41(0) 22 917 1988
Telefax: +41(0) 22 917 0038
E-mail: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/SED/06/P04