13 May 2014: Energy ministers and high-level delegates from 23 countries, as well as representatives from the private sector and international organizations, gathered for the Fifth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM5) to discuss accelerating the transition toward a global clean energy economy and to assess progress made since CEM1 in 2010. Around 250 participants attended the meeting, which convened a set of public-private roundtables and a Ministerial segment on clean energy, integration, energy efficiency and human capacity.

Key outcomes from the meeting included agreement among delegates to: review the existing initiatives with a view to streamlining CEM’s work; establish three work streams on finance, market accessibility of clean energy products and the energy-water nexus; and encourage greater participation of women in the clean energy sector, through increased support of the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Women’s Initiative (C3E).

In a keynote address, IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven urged global political and industrial leaders to proactively advance the uptake of clean energy technologies. She cautioned that the growth of clean energy has slowed in recent years, citing results from an IEA report released on the first day of the meeting titled ‘Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2014′.

The Ministerial segment held discussions in the four areas, with a focus on CEM initiatives: clean energy (solar and wind, bioenergy, hydropower, and carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS)); integration (21st Century Power Partnership (21CPP), the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN), the Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) and the Global Sustainable Cities Network (GSCN)); energy efficiency (Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative and the Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership (GSEP)); and human capacity (Clean Energy Solutions Center, the Clean Energy Education and C3E, the Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (Global LEAP)). Ministers also held closed sessions on strategic directions for the CEM and finance mechanisms for supporting clean energy deployment.

The public-private roundtables held parallel discussions on six topics: energy-efficient cooling and demand response; renewable energy for sustainable growth and employment; energy storage systems (ESS) – challenges and opportunities; electric vehicle (EV) integration in power systems; facilitating access to low-cost capital to scale up renewables; and the energy-water nexus – overview and relevance for the CEM.

Award ceremonies for three of CEM’s 13 initiatives—Global LEAP, SEAD, and ISGAN—recognized companies for their contributions to smart grid projects and energy-efficient products, including LED lights, off-grid televisions and computer monitors.

A number of awareness-raising side events took place at the meeting, including a ‘Model CEM’ based on the Model UN student conferences, where young leaders recommended that CEM member countries: create communities of youth to disseminate information after CEM conferences; support research and collaboration among youth on renewable energies at international and local levels; and deploy local renewable energies to support self-sufficient towns.

The CEM includes ministers from 22 countries and one regional group that together produce 80% of global carbon emissions and account for 90% of clean energy investments. The participating countries are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK) and the US. The meeting convened from 12-13 May 2014, in Seoul, South Korea. [IISD RS Coverage of CEM5] [IISD RS Story on IEA Report ‘Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2014′] [IISD RS Story on CEM4]