Cancun hosts biennial International Energy Forum

Cancun, which will also play host to the COP16 this December, is playing host to the biennial International Energy Forum (IEF) over the next three days. Government officials from 64 countries will discuss how to regulate oil-consumption, stabilise oil prices, and ensure current energy-use will provide for a sustainable future.

Much of the conference will centre on oil price regulation and how to avoid price fluctuations. The IEF is the world's largest gathering of energy ministers and hosts representatives that account for 90% of the world's oil consumption. With China and India rapidly expanding oil and petrol consumption and ever-dwindling hydrocarbon supplies, this year's conference is important in paving the way forward.

Alongside the IEF, Germany and Kuwait are co-hosting the 4th International Energy Business Forum (IEBF) in Cancun, Mexico in which 36 energy companies will meet with government ministers. Tomorrow (31 March) the conference will shift its focus onto sustainability. The agenda states that IEF and IEBF believe that increasing the efficiency of energy-use and the future of carbon sequestration are the surest ways to meet the future's needs. Reducing energy use is the surest way to reduce emissions, and oil and gas companies believe that the use of carbon capture and storage can help extract resources and provide environmental benefits. The role of biofuel on the future will also be discussed.
The EU's recent decision to halt biofuel expansion at its current level will figure into discussions. A press release by the IEF believes that ethanol produced from Brazilian sugar cane to be the only means of producing ethanol that is actually sustainable.

Mexico is proving to be an effective forum for officials to debate the future of our energy consumption.

Author: Michael Good | Climate Action

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pdbreen | Flickr