METI Minister Kajiyama and METI State Minister Nagasaka Attend G20 Energy Ministers Meeting via Video Conference

1. Outline

Date: From September 27 (Sun.) to 28 (Mon.), 2020
Number of participating countries and regions: 26
Saudi Arabia (Presidency), Japan (the previous Presidency), Italy (the next Presidency), the United States, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, People’s Republic of China, the EU, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, the ROK, Russia, South Africa, Jordan, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates

Number of invited international organizations and other associations: 11
The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Energy Forum (IEF), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI), the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Meeting, the Mission Innovation (MI), the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

2. Details of the discussions

• Member countries in attendance held proactive discussions on the fields that the chair considered as priorities, such as CCE, energy access, and energy security and market stability, while taking into consideration briefings by international organizations.

• Minister Kajiyama attended the first day of the meeting. He stated that the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus disease has led the world to reaffirm the importance of fortifying energy security and then stressed that international cooperation among countries and organizations is important not only to make markets stable and to maintain and strengthen supply chains but also to secure stable investment toward the future. Moreover, he stated that CCE is an approach toward a “virtuous cycle of environment and growth,” the policy upheld at the G20 meeting under the chairmanship of Japan in 2019, and offered his support for the utilization of CCE with all energy sources and technologies. Furthermore, he explained to member countries the “Tokyo Beyond-Zero Week” event scheduled to be held in October 2020 in Japan as one of Japan’s efforts for further promoting innovation.

 
 

• State Minister Nagasaka attended the discussions on the second day of the meeting and stated that the issuance of a unified message by G20 energy ministers would be very important toward the compilation of a ministerial communique, considering the unprecedented situation of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and he called on G20 countries to cooperate in taking more comprehensive and flexible actions despite their geographical and economic differences.

• In light of the results of these discussions, participants reaffirmed the roles played by the energy sector in recovering from damages caused by the novel coronavirus disease, the utilization of a variety of energy sources and technologies, the importance of energy transitions to realize “3E+S” and other issues. Moreover, they compiled a ministerial communique that addresses the promotion of CCE as an inclusive and pragmatic approach to controlling emissions that can be applied reflecting each country’s circumstances, efforts for improving energy access, and the importance of investment toward energy market stability and enhanced energy security in light of the impacts caused by the novel coronavirus disease.

3. Outcome documents

• G20 Energy Ministers Meeting Communique

Division in Charge

International Affairs Division, Commissioner’s Secretariat, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy