G8 ministers push nuclear solution to energy puzzle - Yahoo! News

MOSCOW (AFP) - Energy ministers of the powerful Group of Eight countries were divided on how best to ensure global energy supplies, with Russia and the United States favouring nuclear power and others backing short-term investment increases in oil resources

Russian President Vladimir Putin appealed for unity on energy policy.

"Russia calls for unity in efforts by the world community to resolve these problems," he told the meeting of G8 energy ministers.

In a final statement, the ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, meeting under Russian chairmanship, appealed for strong development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in countries so wishing, in order to meet their long-term energy needs.

"For those countries that wish, wide-scale development of safe and secure nuclear energy is crucial for long-term, environmentally sustainable diversification of energy supply," the statement said.

Russia currently holds the rotating G8 chairmanship.

But Andris Piebalgs, the European Union's energy commissioner, said the G8 members' approaches varied greatly.

"Germany is progressively stopping its nuclear power stations, France is strongly in favour of nuclear energy and the United Kingdom is currently in the process of reviewing its energy policy," he said.

The statement underscored that diversification -- of energy sources, suppliers and consumers as well as delivery methods and routes -- was crucial to ensuring that the world's growing appetite for energy was met.

The 11-point communique also called for development of new energy technologies but admitted that fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal "will remain the basis of the world energy industry for at least the first half of the 21st century."

And it called for market-oriented approaches to boosting energy supply as well as significant investment in new means of producing, transporting and processing energy resources.

"I think it's very difficult to see a common view on nuclear energy in the G8," said Pielbalgs.

Energy experts in both Russia and the United States have been formulating plans for a global nuclear energy system that would be run by leading nuclear powers but make nuclear energy available to paying customers anywhere on a closely-controlled basis.

Putin on January 25 announced an initiative for establishment of an international network under United Nations supervision for production and sale of nuclear fuel on a "non-discriminatory" basis.

His proposal was quickly followed by similar announcements in the United States, and US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said here the Russian initiative "is consistent with our thinking."

Speaking to the G8 ministers in the Kremlin, Putin called for members of the powerful club to unite on energy policy with the aim of enhancing energy security for all states.

He said the G8 summit to be held in Saint Petersburg in July presented "a unique opportunity to open a new page in world energy" and said the time had come "to move beyond bilateral deals on specific projects to a global partership" on energy security.

Putin also reiterated his initiative on creation of a global network for production of nuclear fuel and said: "An alternative form of energy must be available to everyone, including developing countries."

As G8 states voiced differing views on the nuclear issue, Russia showed little inclination to give in to mounting European pressure for it to sign an Energy Charter treaty laying out ground rules for energy producers and consumers.

The treaty, which Washington has also balked at, would prevent Russia from curtailing energy supplies as it did during a gas price dispute with Ukraine in January, and would encourage the opening of Russia's energy transport infrastructure to outside competition.

French Industry Minister Francois Loos said Wednesday that the Russian and American global initiatives were "spectacular and interesting but not at all concrete."

"It's a global plan, but we have our own ideas," said German junior energy minister Georg Wilhelm Adamowitsch.

The Europeans, concerned about the reliability of Russian gas supplies, which provide a quarter of EU consumption, did not receive any concrete assurances from Russia.

Claude Mandil, executive director of the International Energy Agency, also warned that if there was insufficient investment in new gas fields by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, "there will not be enough Russian gas to meet its export commitments."

The communique also underlined the need to create conditions favourable to investment to increase energy supplies, develop greater energy efficiency and less polluting technology.