Goa, 22 July 2023: Collaborating to accelerate clean, sustainable, just, affordable, and inclusive energy transitions was the goal of the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting (ETMM) held in Goa, India as part of India's G20 Presidency.

The meeting was attended by G20 energy ministers; and with ministers from Bangladesh, Denmark, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Oman, Singapore, and Spain, as special invitees; as well as representatives from international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and South East Asia (ERIA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Energy Forum (IEF), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Sustainable Energy For All (SEforALL), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his opening remarks highlighted his country’s efforts in greening economic  growth and the energy transition. He said India has the most people and the largest, fastest growing economy, yet it is still making good progress toward keeping its climate pledges. He said India aims to reach 50% non-fossil electricity by 2030, and urged energy ministers and international organisations to implement an advanced, affordable, clean, sustainable, and inclusive energy transition.

Raj Kumar Singh, India's Minister for New and Renewable Energy, who chaired the G20 Energy Ministerial Meeting, shared the collective G20 view that the energy transition must take into account the circumstances of individual countries. He also spoke of the adoption of ambitious and forward-looking actions, praised the agreement on G20's five principles, and said free and open trade will be encouraged for zero and low-carbon hydrogen in an enabling transition in hard-to-abate sectors. He emphasized the need for sharing technology and low-cost financing, especially for developing countries, so no one is left behind.

Indonesia's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif and Brazil's Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira de Oliveira spoke of the G20 ministerial focus on building global cooperation toward sustainable and clean energy development in the priority areas of addressing technology gaps, energy security and diversified supply chains and fuels for the future.

Several G20 member countries, including Germany, the UK, and the US, called for efforts toward phasing down the unabated use of fossil fuels. Other invited countries such as Oman, Nigeria, Bangladesh said abatement and removal technologies will address global concerns, underscoring the differences and concerns over the bid to reduce fossil fuel use. As a part of the deliverables, the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre was launched.

ERIA President Professor Tetsuya Watanabe emphasized the challenges the Global South faces in the energy transition toward carbon neutrality. He stressed the importance of robust public and private finance to cover not only zero emission technologies but also transition technologies in the transition pathways. Prof Watanabe also highlighted the resilience of a clean energy supply chain, which is imperative to tackle the energy security challenges and geopolitical risks. He said ERIA will further enhance its research activities for the secure, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy transition in the Asian region.

Prof Watanabe also met ministers and had discussions with US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and those from other countries such as Maria Garibotti (Argentina), Arifin Tasrif (Indonesia), Alexandre Silveira de Oliveira (Brazil), Tan See Leng (Singapore), Nasrul Hamid (Bangladesh) and Indian Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, and well as IEA, IRENA, GECF, and CEM chiefs. 

At the end of the meeting, the ministers expressed their deep gratitude to India’s Presidency for stewarding the energy transition agenda in 2023 and looked forward to Brazil’s G20 Presidency in 2024. They also adopted an outcome document and chair’s summary which reiterated their commitment to sustainable energy for all. The outcome document and the chairman’s statement summary is available at:

G20 Energy Transitions Ministers’ Meeting Outcome Document and Chair’s Summary