The U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm met global energy leaders in Paris for the International Energy Agency's 2022 Ministerial Meeting.
The two-day meeting covered the importance of unity regarding strengthening energy security, the reduction of market volatility and speeding up global energy transitions, according to a March 24 Department of Energy news release.
“Today, IEA Member Countries and the European Commission banded together on actions to support Ukraine, stabilize the global energy market and ultimately end our reliance on nations that weaponize fossil energy,” Granholm said. “The urgent need to accelerate the equitable transition to clean energy remains a top priority and must be accelerated. I’m honored to work alongside this collection of the world’s incredibly talented energy leaders. We are committed to a clean energy future that will create millions of good paying jobs, mitigate the destructive impacts of climate change and ensure a peaceful energy future.”
Attending the meeting was energy and climate ministers from more than 40 governments around the world. Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Yaroslav Demchenkov, Ukraine's deputy minister of energy for European integration, attended as a special guest. Ukrainian Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko attended virtually, according to the release.
“The energy world is changing fast and needs to change faster still," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “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. The IEA was founded nearly 50 years ago during the oil crisis of the 1970s, and this Ministerial Meeting is setting us up to help lead the response to the energy and climate crises we face today.”
The release states ministers are setting a series of new mandates to reflect its mission to "attain net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector by mid-century."
“Along with securing supplies of gas and oil, low emissions technologies are essential to long-term energy security and are the cornerstone of practical emissions reduction strategies," Australia’s Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said. "An acceleration in the deployment of low emissions technology will only be achieved by driving the costs of these technologies down.”
Denmark's Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Dan Jorgensen said they must create a quick and clean energy transition and must be done with individuals "at the center" to make sure there is "sustainable green job growth," according to the release.
The release states the ministers requested to review options that will enable Birol's call on making IEA energy data readily available while offsetting impacts on the agency budget. The majority of IEA's data sales reportedly stem from private companies and consultancies for commercial purposes.
