Ministers gather to address the world’s energy and climate challenges

40 Ministers from dozens of countries took part in the International Energy Agency’s first Clean Energy Transitions Summit on July 9, discussing how to bring about a sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and achieve a definitive peak in global carbon emissions.

Thursday’s Summit, which was streamed live to a global audience, brought together Ministers from countries accounting for over 80 per cent of the world economy. Participants highlighted the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on their energy systems, underscoring the importance of finding ways to support clean energy transitions despite the current challenges. The event was livestreamed in its entirety across our digital channels to a global audience that reached more than 1 million viewers.

Participating Ministers included those from the world’s largest energy users, such as Minister Zhang (China), Secretary Brouillette (United States), Commissioner Simson (European Union), Minister Singh (India), Minister Kajiyama (Japan), Minister Kwarteng (United Kingdom), Minister Albuquerque (Brazil), Minister O’Regan (Canada), Minister Costa (Italy), Minister Mantashe (South Africa), Secretary Nahle (Mexico), Minister Tasrif (Indonesia) and Deputy Prime Minister Ribera (Spain). 

Speakers also included United Nations Secretary General Guterres, CEOs from leading and diverse companies, top investors, heads of regional development banks and other key international organisations, past and present COP Presidents, and leaders from civil society.

"This Summit proves that international dialogue and collaboration can bring great value. It was an opportunity to inform, support and inspire each other. Now, it is time for all of us to get to work – building back our economies, bringing our citizens back to work, ensuring that 2019 was the definitive peak in emissions and building towards the resilient and sustainable energy systems of the future," said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director who chaired the Summit. "What I see clearly is momentum – momentum behind sustainable recovery and momentum behind clean energy transitions.”

Birol added: “The Summit proved that international dialogue and collaboration can bring great value. It was an opportunity to inform, support and inspire each other. We intend to reconvene participants in mid-2021 at a second IEA Summit to ensure the world is doing its utmost to address these major challenges. But what I see today is momentum – momentum behind sustainable recovery and momentum behind clean energy transitions. We all need to do everything we can to keep building that momentum.”