Minister Habeck comments on results of the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting in Goa, India

At the end of today’s G20 Meeting of Energy Ministers, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, said:

“The G20 Energy Ministers Meeting faced difficult negotiations. A blockade by a few, mainly fossil energy producing countries has hampered progress at the meeting. Nevertheless, the ministers managed to take an important step en route towards this year’s UN Climate Change Conference. The vast majority of the G20 wants to drive forward the expansion of renewable energy and has already taken steps to achieve this goal. This is reflected by the figures we have. In 2022, renewables accounted for 83 per cent of global energy capacity additions. According to international organisations, the share of renewables is expected to rise to 95 per cent by the end of this decade.”

Minister Habeck emphasised that the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting has taken place in the wake of two serious crises: “In the last few days and weeks in particular, there have been major heat waves worldwide. This shows once again how urgent it is to curb global warming. And, of course, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has also heavily influenced this conference. As we speak, many more soldiers are dying and the number of civilian casualties is simply unbearable," Minister Habeck said. "I strongly condemn Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. Russia's behaviour at the G20 ministerial meeting has once again shown that it completely fails to see the reality and has a completely twisted view of the world.

We must learn from last year’s experience when Europe painfully witnessed Russia using energy as a weapon. Renewable sources of energy are not just a matter of climate change mitigation. They are a matter of energy security. It is crucial that instead of the world waiting for the slowest to move, the many progressive forces move forward together. Under India’s chairmanship at this G20 meeting, for example, it was agreed that energy efficiency will be doubled by 2030. For the first time, the G20 have committed to decarbonising energy-intensive sectors of industry by 2050. However, it has not been possible to reach agreement on a tripling of renewables by 2030, as has already been agreed by all G7 countries. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the G20 countries has committed to this expansion target. Reaching this target is possible and simply vital because the earth is literally on fire.”