Press Release 06 April 2009

G20 Outcome:
The World Energy Council's (WEC) View on "Building the new Energy Order"

 
WEC members believe that the current global recession must not threaten the long-term objectives of meeting growing demand, tackling climate change and reducing energy poverty. Governments and industry must keep the focus on the long term.
 
Industry players are ready to make bold and responsible investment decisions to support sustainable growth. To make this possible, energy policy must provide the right investment incentives. This means that, today, stimulus spending should be widely used to help prepare a clean energy future while addressing current short-term issues. It is essential that such policies be designed and deployed to maintain investment momentum, which is key to long-term clean and affordable energy development.
 
For eighteen months the world has watched as the global "financial crisis", has grown to threaten some of the world's largest financial institutions and caused a global shortage of liquidity in wholesale financial markets.
 
Over the past six months this crisis has affected the wider economy of practically every developed and developing nation.
 
How will this impact the world's energy industries?
 
WEC members feel that the energy sector short and longer term challenges centre on:

• The security of supply and predictable energy demand,
• The sustainability of current energy policies,
• Alleviating the energy poverty experienced by more than two billion inhabitants of our planet.

 
Policies are at the heart of the debate. WEC believes that accelerated improvement of government energy policies and industry practices is what is needed in order to increase industrial capacity to rise to the current challenges and to improve consumer habits.
 
The WEC is currently exploring which kinds of public policies will best serve particular countries. The WEC's Assessment of Energy Policy and Practices, that is to be part of this year's private public dialogue on Energy and Climate Change, seeks to foster a large scale exchange of ideas among the main stakeholders that govern public policy, NGOs, and citizens with the aim of facilitating the best solutions to meeting each countries energy needs.

The World Energy Council (WEC) is the foremost multi-energy organisation in the world today. WEC has Member Committees in over 90 countries, including most of the largest energy-producing and energy consuming countries. Established in 1923; the organisation covers all types of energy, including coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, and renewable, and is UN-accredited, non-governmental, non-commercial and non-aligned. WEC is a UK-registered charity headquartered in London. WEC Services Limited was established in 2001 as the incorporated trading subsidiary of WEC.

WEC's Mission is "To promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people"

WEC Media contact:
Theresa Hedberg: hedberg@worldenergy.org
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7734 5996
Stephan Albrechtskirchinger: albrechtskirchinger@worldenergy.org
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7734 5996