Text – G20 Energy Ministers Statement

The G20 issued the following statement Friday following an energy ministers
meeting:

We, the G20 Energy Ministers, are profoundly saddened by the human tragedy
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We convene today against this backdrop of a
crisis that, in addition to its direct health and economic and social impacts,
has also contributed to the destabilization of global oil and gas markets and
compromises energy security for many nations.

The impacts on the energy markets, in turn, further deepen the global
economic crisis and hinder sustainable development. We agree that ensuring
energy market stability and ensuring affordable and secure energy are key in
addressing the health, well-being and resilience of all countries throughout the
crisis response and recovery phases.

Building on our Leaders’ commitment at their Summit on March 26, “to use
all available policy tools to…maintain market stability,” we commit to ensure
that the energy sector continues to make a full, effective contribution to
overcoming COVID-19 and powering the subsequent global recovery.

We commit to work together in the spirit of solidarity on immediate,
concrete actions to address these issues in a time of unprecedented
international emergency.

– Energy Market Stability

We recognize the vital role that well-functioning, stable, open,
transparent and competitive energy markets play in bolstering economic activity
and growth.

The significant economic contraction and uncertain outlook due to the
pandemic have exacerbated energy supply and demand imbalances, increasing energy
market instability, directly impacting the oil and gas sector and spilling over
into other industries, further hampering the global economic recovery. This
market instability, adds to the heavy toll on jobs, businesses, and people.

To underpin global economic recovery and to safeguard our energy markets,
we commit to work together to develop collaborative policy responses, that will
ensure market stability across all energy sources taking into account each
country’s circumstances.

To address these challenges, we commit to take all the necessary and
immediate measures to ensure energy market stability.

We recognize the commitment of some producers to stabilize energy markets.
We acknowledge the importance of international cooperation in ensuring the
resilience of energy systems.

– Energy Security

We recognize that energy security is a key enabler for economic activity,
an essential element of energy access, and a cornerstone of energy market
stability.

The pandemic has introduced unprecedented challenges and reminds us of the
importance of a stable, affordable, sustainable, and uninterrupted supply of
energy to meet demand, especially for essential services, such as healthcare,
which is crucial to ensure that the global community can overcome this crisis,
especially in developing and least developed countries.

We commit to take all the necessary measures to ensure the balance of
interests between producers and consumers, the security of our energy systems
and the uninterrupted flow of energy. In doing so, we are particularly aware of
the need to ensure that health and other sectors that are leading the fight
against COVID-19 have the energy supplies that they need.

We will continue to work closely with actors across the sector to make our
energy systems more adaptive and resilient in responding to future emergencies.

We establish a short-term Focus Group, with the task of monitoring the
response measures. The Focus Group is open for all G20 parties, on voluntary
basis, and will regularly report its assessment during the Saudi G20 Presidency,
in collaboration with relevant international organizations, to G20 Energy
Ministers.

We will continue our close cooperation and review both our response to the
COVID-19 pandemic and our broader G20 energy agenda – transition towards cleaner
and sustainable energy systems – at our scheduled meeting in September, while
standing ready to reconvene sooner if necessary.