1 December 2017 –Argentina began its presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) today. The first South American country to host the G20, Argentina has defined a number of priorities for the forum over the next twelve months, chief among them the pursuit of fair, inclusive and sustainable development.

“We aim to be the voice for the entire region, not just our country,” stated President Mauricio Macri of Argentina at the official launch of the G20 presidency in Buenos Aires yesterday. “We want to demonstrate that our view from the south of the world can be a bridge for diversity.”

Sustainable energy will be one of the G20’s principal work streams in 2018, with a key topic being the energy transition towards more flexible, transparent and cleaner energy systems. Energy efficiency will feature prominently on the agenda, as will renewable energy, energy access in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the transparency of energy data and the digitalisation of energy markets. G20 members will also continue implementing the G20 Energy Efficiency Leading Programme, which was adopted in 2016 as the forum’s first long-term plan for energy efficiency improvement. IPEEC acts as the coordinating organisation for the EELP.

“We welcome Argentina’s presidency and look forward to continue supporting the G20’s collaborative activities on energy efficiency,” said Mr. Benoit Lebot, Executive Director of IPEEC. “To meet the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, countries need to keep the momentum going for energy efficiency, especially the world’s twenty major economies. International cooperation can play an important role here to accelerate progress.”

Energy efficiency is also a priority for Argentina domestically as it seeks to achieve its target of reducing energy consumption by 11% compared to business-as-usual in 2030. Both Germany and Japan – respectively the 2017 and 2019 G20 presidencies – are energy efficiency leaders in their regions, and Argentina is well placed to leverage energy efficiency nationally and in Latin America as part of this G20 troika.

The first G20 energy event next year will be a meeting of the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group in February in Buenos Aires. The meeting will take place back-to-back with a G20 side event on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

More information on IPEEC’s G20 activities here.

* Building consensus for a sustainable and equitable development