[Title] Joint Ministerial Statement of the 4th East Asian Summit Energy Ministers Meeting

1. The Fourth EAS Energy Ministers Meeting was held on 22 July 2010 in Da Lat, Viet Nam. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Vu Huy Hoang, Minister of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam, and co-chaired by H.E. Chiaki Takahashi, Vice Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. The Meeting was attended by the Ministers and high level officials responsible for Energy from the EAS Participating Countries, namely ASEAN Member States, Australia, People’s Republic of China, Republic of India, Republic of Korea, Japan, and New Zealand. The Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community was also in attendance.

2. The Ministers were pleased with the remarkable works of the EAS Energy Cooperation Task Force (ECTF) to foster closer energy cooperation among the EAS participating countries. The Ministers welcomed the various concrete results and initiatives of the three ECTF work streams and expressed their expectation that the outcomes of this cooperation would not be limited to a mutual recognition at the working or research levels, but also at the senior policy-making level, for more effective use of knowledge sharing, experience and best practices among the EAS participating countries.

3. The Ministers exchanged views on the global economic situation and its impact on the recent trend of energy demand. Noting the slow increase in energy demand due to the effect of global economic crisis, the Ministers shared the view that this trend will be once again moving towards acceleration as the global economy is recovering well. The Ministers noted an estimation on the increase in energy demand in the EAS region which accounts for a large part of the total global increase.

4. Recognising the excessive fluctuations in energy prices that gave adverse impact to the global economy, the Ministers committed to work together to monitor the price-hike effect of the recent recovery in energy demand. With this in mind, the Ministers supported the various survey activities on oil price formation mechanism conducted by various international organisations, such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

5. The Ministers recognised the close linkage between energy and climate change, and expressed their intention to make positive contribution to the global efforts in addressing the challenges of climate change.

6. The Ministers appreciated the steady implementation of action plans by EAS participating countries that aim to achieve voluntary energy efficiency goals. The Ministers looked forward for more updates in future.

7. Regarding the promotion of energy efficiency, the Ministers welcomed the proposals to engage EAS participating countries on a voluntary basis, through several activities, such as (i) sharing information on the achievements toward energy efficiency goals, the progress of their action plans, the policies to realise these achievements, (ii) Energy Efficiency Roadmap Formulation Project supported by Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) as a means to accelerate the deployment of energy efficient technologies in the selected sectors of interested EAS participating countries, (iii) reviewing the EAS Energy Outlook regularly to deepen its projection to a more sector specific energy demand affected by action plans’ progress, and (iv) supporting interested EAS participating countries to develop their advanced energy statistics.

8. The Ministers noted the outcomes of the joint EAS-ASEAN+3 Policy-Oriented Workshop organised under the cooperation of the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and the ASEAN Secretariat. The Ministers welcomed the “Energy Efficiency Conference” Project, and expressed appreciation to Lao PDR which will host the First Energy Efficiency Conference in 2011 jointly with the ASEAN Secretariat and ERIA. The Ministers also noted the policy recommendations submitted by ERIA on the promotion of energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

9. The Ministers reaffirmed their strong interests in biofuels while ensuring sustainability of supply and compatibility with the environment, protecting natural diversity and minimising impact on food security. They appreciated the progress made in the compilation of the Biofuels Database in East Asia, the biofuels for transport Researchers Invitation Program, the publication of the EAS-ERIA Biodiesel Fuel Trade Handbook: 2010 and the pilot projects on biomass utilisation in EAS. The Ministers expected that each country will make further efforts to promote sustainable economic and social welfare by cultivation of various feedstock and production of biofuels. The Ministers also envisioned continuous support and assistance from the ERIA and the New Energy Foundation of Japan (NEF) in pursuing actively this excellent project to cover enhancement of the biofuels database, new areas in biofuels research programmes, updating of the biofuels trade handbook, assessment of biomass utilisation beyond community level, and conduct of life cycle assessment of various biofuels feedstock.

10. The Ministers noted the results of the Phase 2 Energy Market Integration study. The Ministers noted that the Phase 2 study has contributed substantially to sharing information on the benefits of more liberalised energy markets and on the development of open and competitive regional and international energy markets in providing affordable energy at all economic levels. The Ministers acknowledged that the EMI work stream has achieved its objectives in accordance with its 2007 Energy Market Integration Plan and requested the EMI work stream to make an assessment of the need for any further analysis of the EMI work stream. With this in mind, the Ministers also requested ECTF members to discuss how they might collectively or individually reap the benefits that more liberalized energy markets offer, based on the information disseminated to members since 2007, as well as to assess the collaborative measures to improve the market regulatory framework and to establish a conducive environment for the flourishing of the energy industry. EAS ECTF Members were also asked to take into account relevant work by other international fora and organisations including APEC and IEA when considering the benefit of more liberalised energy market.

11. The Ministers recognised ERIA’s strong and active support to the various work streams of EAS ECTF. The valuable assistance of ERIA has contributed significantly to achievement of important milestones expected of the work streams and the Ministers looked forward to its continued support.

12. The Ministers agreed to meet again in Brunei Darussalam in 2011 to further enhance the EAS energy cooperation.

13. The Ministers expressed appreciation to the Government and people of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam for the warm hospitality accorded to them and for the excellent arrangements made for the 4th EAS EMM.