Today International Energy Agency Ministers convened for a discussion on global energy security and clean energy deployment. We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine, which has destroyed lives and upended peace and security in Europe. Russia’s invasion threatens global energy security and democratic principles. Russia’s actions, including its use of energy as a weapon, threatens the rules-based international order that has prevailed since the end of the Second World War. Energy should never be used as a means of political coercion or to threaten national security. We demand that Russia immediately cease its military aggression, withdraw its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine, and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
We further express solidarity with Ukraine, the Ukrainian people, and its democratically elected government. We offer our deepest sympathies to the innocent victims of this senseless war. We strongly condemn the Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and civilian energy infrastructure. We are grateful to our Ukrainian colleagues for their participation in today’s proceedings and for offering views on energy security in Ukraine and beyond. We welcome coordinated action within the IEA and across multilateral organizations to assist Ukraine in addressing the challenges to its energy security, and further enhance the security of global energy supplies. We highlight the need to accelerate the energy transition and further diversify the energy system towards net zero solutions in accordance with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
We acknowledge the key role of energy savings to reduce oil and gas dependency. We welcome the IEA’s 10-Point Plan to Cut Oil Use and we invite the IEA to follow up on the voluntary implementation of demand side measures with member countries, based on national circumstances.