More than 60 countries convene to shape the future of energy security

More than 60 Ministers and senior government officials from around the world, including from countries on the front lines of a wide range of energy challenges, will convene in London this week to discuss the future of energy security in a summit hosted by UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and International Energy Agency Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol.

With the security and resilience of supply in sharp focus amid rising global energy demand, the need for global collaboration to tackle current challenges and protect countries and communities from future energy shocks has never been more urgent.

The International Summit on the Future of Energy Security will bring together leaders from across the energy sector – including oil, gas, renewables, electricity, nuclear, critical minerals and more – to build consensus on a holistic approach to energy security and ensure governments have all the necessary tools to respond to the challenges confronting them in the fast-evolving energy sector.

The Rt Hon Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency / Image source: LinkedIn

The 120 high-level participants at the summit include Ursula von der Leyen, President of European Commission; H.E. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Egypt; Sara Aagesen Muñoz, Deputy Prime Minister of Spain; Tommy Joyce, Acting US Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs; Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy; Hayyan Abdel-Ghani, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil, Iraq; and Masanori Tsuruda, Deputy Commissioner at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Other leaders participating at the summit include Energy Ministers of France, Greece, Indonesia, Guyana, Columbia, Malaysia, Norway, Türkiye, and Ukraine.

With global electricity demand growing strongly on the back of major scale-ups in electrification across the global economy as well as the increasing use of air conditioners, appliances, electric vehicles and data centres, Keisuke Sadamori, the Director of Energy Markets and Security at IEA, had explained in a recent thought leadership why the variable nature of renewable technologies will require complementary sources of round-the-clock, low-emissions power that can serve as baseload electricity supply.

The summit will dive deep into defining this energy mix of the future and explore the geopolitical, technological and economic factors affecting energy security in a volatile global market.

Key areas in focus include changes in demand, supply and trade of major fuels; energy access and affordability; the expanding role of electricity in many energy systems; the growth of clean energy technologies and their supply chains; and the availability of the minerals and metals required for clean energy technologies; the resilience of energy systems to the impact of climate change; and technology innovation and the rise of AI.

Stay tuned as Energy Connects brings you exclusive insights and coverage from the discussions and proceedings at the summit.