6 May (NucNet): In a strongly worded statement relating to the crisis in Ukraine, energy ministers of the G7 have called for diversification of the national and global energy mix and said they will promote the use of low carbon technologies including nuclear in countries which want to use it.
The statement follows a meeting in Rome on 5 and 6 May 2014 to discuss ways to strengthen collective energy security. The meeting was attended by energy ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, and the EU commissioner for energy.
The statement said recent events highlight the need to address energy security challenges and that energy should not be used as a means of political coercion or a threat to security. “We are extremely concerned by the energy security implications of developments in Ukraine, as a consequence of Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement said.
It said ministers at the meeting in Rome were committed to initiate “a systematic and enduring step change” to improve energy security at national, regional and global levels. “And we remain united in our determination to provide various types of assistance that Ukraine needs to strengthen its energy security,” the statement said.
It said a broader energy security strategy is needed to address “the larger dimensions of today’s globalised energy markets” shared among energy consumers, producers and transit countries.
The statement called for investment to supply energy in line with economic developments and environmental needs. It said some investments in infrastructure that cannot be built according to market rules, could be supported by regulatory frameworks or by means of public funding.
