The G20 energy ministers have issued a joint communiqué in which they reaffirm the goals to accelerate the global energy transition which the international community adopted at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai (COP28) just under a year ago. At their meeting on 4 October in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, they stressed the urgency of the climate crisis and the resolutions of COP28 as well as the importance of the global energy transition, including tripling global renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 and doubling the pace of progress in increasing energy efficiency over the same period. Together, these are the key levers for driving forward the global transition away from fossil fuels. Together with other ambitious partners from the G20, Germany was able to fend off attempts by some members to relativise the results of the Global Stocktake and thus fall behind what was achieved in Dubai. This means that for the first time since 2021, the G20 has once again adopted a common position on energy and climate policy. It can also be considered as a success that the G20 has agreed concrete steps to implement the COP28 results, in particular measures to expand storage facilities, the grid and energy networks which are key factors for success when it comes to achieving the goal of tripling renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030. Germany was represented by State Secretary Anja Hajduk from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

State Secretary Anja Hajduk: “The Brazilian G20 presidency has set important priorities this year, including accelerating investment in clean energy solutions, especially in emerging and developing countries, and linking the energy transition with social aspects. In view of the challenging negotiations that have taken place in a difficult geopolitical situation, it is a considerable success that the G20 energy ministers have issued a joint communiqué in which they reaffirm the important resolutions to accelerate the global energy transition. Building on this, the G20 has agreed concrete steps to expand grids and energy storage systems, which are necessary to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030. At the same time, it is clear that further G20 resolutions are required in order to make quick progress in realising the global goals set in Dubai and to free ourselves from our dependence on fossil fuels. We will continue to work actively towards this goal under the South African G20 presidency in 2025.”

In addition to the G20 Ministerial Meeting, Brazil also hosted the 15th Clean Energy Ministerial and the 9th Mission Innovation Ministerial Meeting (MI) from 30 September to 3 October 2024, which brought together governments, international organisations, the private sector, academia, innovators and civil society. The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), founded in 2010 at a US initiative as an international forum, serves to identify and promote a broad spectrum of technology options for a sustainable global energy supply and aims to speed up their broad market application. The CEM thus complements the political discussions among the G20 members by focussing on concrete steps towards the broad application of clean energy technologies. The aim of the MI is to advance clean energy technologies through investment in research, development and demonstration projects.

As the G20 Presidency, Brazil has actively linked its priorities to the results of the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation Ministerial. The CEM and MI provide important impetus for the next steps in implementing the global energy transition, which was laid down in a joint declaration.