Australia to take key role at 50th anniversary IEA ministerial

Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, will join ministers from Canada, the Netherlands, and Poland as vice chairs of the 2024 International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial.

The event, set to take place in Paris in February next year, will be co-chaired by the Irish minister for environment, climate, and communications, Eamon Ryan, and French minister for energy transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

They will be joined by Australia’s Chris Bowen, as well as Canada’s minister of natural resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, the Netherlands’ minister for climate and energy policy, Rob Jetten, and Poland’s minister of climate and environment, Anna Moskwa.

The ministerial will coinciding with the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the International Energy Agency, which was created in response to the energy crisis of the early 1970s, but which has gradually morphed from an international fossil fuel lobby to a leading advocate of the need to make a rapid switch to renewables.

“It is a real honour for Australia to be elected to Vice-Chair for the 2024 IEA Ministerial along with fellow vice chairs from the Netherlands, Poland and Canada, supporting Ireland and France,” Chris Bowen said in a statement.

“The Ministerial will give countries an opportunity to advance international cooperation on energy security and tackling climate change, which go hand-in-hand and are more important than ever given the global energy crisis.

“We will ensure the world knows that Australia remains a reliable energy exporter now and into the future as our regions benefit from the transformation to a renewable energy superpower.

“The Albanese Government is also working hard to make sure the Pacific region is at the front of global leaders minds when thinking about climate change, and this is another way Australia can be a champion of the Pacific and a regional voice throughout Europe.”