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2000 APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting

San Diego, The United States | 12 May 2000
APEC Energy Ministers met for the fourth time in San Diego, California, May 12, 2000, to discuss regional energy cooperation and the role of energy in meeting APEC's goals in the 21 st Century.
Message to APEC Economic Leaders:
  1. Under the theme of "Turning Vision into Reality" Ministers committed to the implementation of energy initiatives on a voluntary basis, taking into consideration the different stages of development of APEC member economies, endorsed a new implementation strategy, and agreed to send the following message to APEC Economic Leaders.
  2. We, APEC Energy Ministers, meeting on the eve of the new millennium, convey our conviction to make the best effort for the simultaneous pursuit of economic growth, energy security and environmental protection, recognizing that energy is central to maintaining the region's economic recovery, building the region's economic and social future, strengthening the marketplace, and promoting clean and sustainable development.
  3. Over the past few years we have endorsed energy policy and regulatory initiatives that provide sound guidance for sustaining the momentum for reform, creating the conditions under which private capital can flow and energy can contribute to the betterment of peoples? lives, and increasing energy security by creating conditions for providing adequate supplies at reasonable prices.
  4. We have endorsed technology cooperation initiatives that provide benefits to all citizens, give a human face to development, provide new options for the clean development and use of energy, and contribute to energy security by diversifying the energy mix, improving energy efficiency, deploying new and renewable energy technology, reducing costs, facilitating energy business and trade, and mitigating damages on energy infrastructure after natural disasters, according to each economy's particular circumstances.
  5. We believe that the time is right to focus on how to implement our initiatives because (1) many of our economies are undergoing energy sector reform and stand to benefit from the shared experiences of other economies in coping with the transition to a more open, competitive markets and (2) rising demand and resulting dependence on oil supplies from outside the region have made energy security a major concern in many of our economies.
  6. We are also responding to your directions to translate vision into action and to pay more attention to implementation and practical result s.
    We commit to implement the Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC, which is a significant step to enhance the ability of women to contribute to and benefit from prosperity of the region.
  7. We noted the existence of disparities in terms of technical skills, human resources development and business sector capabilities within APEC Economies. We hereby believe that in all our endeavors we must strive to ensure that the disparities among the developed and developing economies should be narrowed in our effort to turn vision into reality.
  8. We hereby commit to the implementation of our energy initiatives and to better integration of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation goals with mutually supportive economic and technical cooperation goals.
  9. We also commit to a new implementation strategy, which features a program of implementation facilitation to member economies as requested on a voluntary basis and a system of self-reporting on progress in implementation by member economies to you through the Energy Working Group and the APEC system.
Energy Initiatives
9. Our implementation commitment and strategy cover the following initiatives which progress and fulfill our directions from the Third APEC Energy Ministers Meeting:
Fourteen non-binding energy policy principles that recognize the need for a common frame of reference and to work together to give impetus to energy policy reform;
Strengthening policy dialogue among member economies on issues such as energy security, energy infrastructure, energy market reform, energy efficiency and energy and the environment;
Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC's) Energy Demand and Supply Outlook, which examines energy trends in the APEC region over the 15 year period from 1995 to 2010, greatly fostering member economies? understanding of energy issues and future energy supply and demand trends;
A Manual of Best Practice Principles for Independent Power Producers and a Natural Gas Initiative, developed in close cooperation with the business community, that recommends non-binding policy principles and best practices for improving investor and member economy confidence and reducing the risks and costs of financing energy infrastructure development;
An Environmentally Sound Energy Infrastructure in APEC initiative that recommends non-binding principles and best practice principles for incorporating good environmental practices into the development of power projects, and is now being broadened to encompass other aspects of energy infrastructure development;
A voluntary pledge and review energy efficiency initiative for improving industrial competitiveness, reducing the environmental impacts of energy production, delivery, and use, and producing energy savings;
A general policy framework for cooperation on energy standards, including support for inclusion of energy efficiency with the mutual recognition agreements being developed in the APEC region, and establishment of the position of an APEC Energy Efficiency Test Procedures Coordinator to facilitate the implementation of a product-by product approach to the greater alignment of energy performance test procedures;
Broad technology cooperation programs in energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy technology, and clean fossil energy;
Close cooperation with the Energy Working Group Business Network and the Energy Regulators? Forum;
The initiation of information sharing on oil markets, which will foster member economies? understanding of oil supply and demand trends and contribute to the enhancement of oil security; timely and accurate data on oil supplies, demand, and inventories can assist the goal of achieving a more transparent, secure, and less volatile oil marketplace;
Close cooperation with the APERC, generously hosted and supported by Japan, on analyses and studies related to energy policy deliberations;
A response cooperation initiative to mitigate damages on energy infrastructure after natural disasters, including earthquakes;
An initiative to advance cooperation in the development and deployment of new and renewable energy technology, especially in developing economies, and to hold an APEC private sector renewable energy forum to promote private sector involvement in the identification and implementation of collaborative efforts under this initiative;
A program to identify best practices for energy services consisting of a series of workshops throughout the region that will provide education on the nature and benefits of energy services and identify appropriate government policies and practices.
The identification of further initiatives to advance our common goal of sustainable development.
Primary Principles in Our Initiatives
10. Our initiatives embody a number of primary principles to guide and assist the development of our individual and collective activities, including:
A common understanding on regional energy issues and future energy supply and demand trends;
Complementary regulatory, institutional and procedural regimes with no impediments to trade and investment in energy infrastructure, products and services;
Open, efficient and competitive markets for energy services and products, both within and among economies;
Energy pricing principles and practices of member economies which: (a) reflect the economic cost of supplying and using energy across the full cycle of energy assets and infrastructure: and (b) have regard to environmental impacts;
Non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable policy, regulatory, environmental and administrative regimes in the energy sectors of member economies;
Cooperation in the development of domestic and intra-regional energy infrastructure and energy trading networks;
Sustainable development through the harmonization of economic development, energy security and the environmental impacts of energy production and use;
Energy supply diversification (including renewable energy) and improved energy efficiency.
Implementation Strategy
11.  We commit to an implementation strategy which features:
A program of implementation facilitation under which invited teams will visit economies to share experiences on our initiatives and agreed principles;
A system of voluntary, annual self reports on implementation progress by member economies that will be forwarded to Economic Leaders through the Energy Working Group and the APEC system;
An agreed and consistent reporting framework to be developed by the Energy Working Group that each economy may use.
12.  A detailed description of the implementation strategy is attached.
13.  Ministers welcomed the opportunity to meet and discuss recent developments in the energy sector and the opportunity afforded by this meeting to give direction to the future of the work of the Energy Working Group. Ministers recognized that clean and sustainable energy policies are likely to remain of paramount importance in the years to come as growing populations, economic development, new technologies, and rapidly changing circumstances present new challenges and opportunities. They directed the Energy Working Group to chart the progress in the implementation of the initiatives mentioned above and to report back to them at the next Ministers? meeting on the effectiveness of the new implementation strategy.