The International Chamber for Commerce (ICC) has produced a set of business recommendations on energy sustainability and security for G20 Energy Ministers preparing for the Hangzhou G20 Leaders’ Summit 4-5 September 2016. Developed by the ICC G20 CEO Advisory Group, the paper – “Six steps to energy sustainability and security” – aims to help maintain momentum in the wake of increased focus on energy and climate change in the 2015 Antalya G20 Leader’s Communiqué.
Access to reliable, affordable, economically-viable, socially-acceptable and environmentally-sound energy is fundamental to economic growth and sustainable development. In light of expected growth in world population and energy demand-projected to increase by one-third by 2035, across all types and forms of energy-long-term energy access and security must become priorities for G20 Leaders.
Given the vast scale and long timeframes of required energy investments, effective and predictable policy and legal frameworks will be critical to ensure that adequate and appropriate energy investment occurs now and over the coming decades.
To enable these massive investment requirements, the ICC G20 CEO Advisory Group has put forward six pragmatic recommendations to G20 Energy ministers:
- Utilize a broad energy mix to drive sustainable development.
- Manage the long-term transition to secure and sustainable global energy systems by establishing stable regulatory frameworks that encourage and incentivize energy investment.
- Increase R&D investments for innovative energy technology.
- Promote and prioritize energy efficiency.
- Improve global energy governance and coordinate international efforts.
- Increase worldwide access to clean, modern forms of energy in accordance with SDG 7, with emphasis on Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
This is the third year that companies from the ICC G20 CEO Advisory Group have crafted business recommendations for consideration by G20 Leaders in parallel to the annual Busines-20 (B20) process:
- In 2014, a formal paper was presented to the Australian Government, G20 Energy Sustainability Working Group and G20 Sherpas. They were also discussed during the B20 Summit energy panel in July 2014.
- In 2015, the ICC group co-organized the B20 Energy Dialogue and the associated recommendations were delivered to the first G20 Energy Ministerial in Istanbul in October 2015.
