G20 ministers stress need for new energy supplies

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KLEINMOND, South Africa, Nov 19 (AFP): Leaders of the world's 20 largest economies stressed yesterday the need for new energy supplies as global economic growth continues to stumble over high oil prices.
Winding up a two-day meeting in Kleinmond, near Cape Town, Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers and central bank heads said the global economic outlook was unclear, with commodity price volatility threatening price stability in many countries.
"While the likely slowdown in global economic growth is expected to be modest, its extent and duration remains difficult to predict," said a communique.
"While the slower pace of growth is expected to moderate pressure on capacity and resources, rising energy and food prices will remain an important source of price pressures ... There is substantial room to develop new markets in additional commodities."
The G20 represents nearly 90 per cent of the world economy and two thirds of its population and trade.
It includes the wealthy G7 nations-the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Britain and Canada-as well as the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.
South Africa's Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told journalists the gathering had seen a "very deep and challenging discussion on commodity prices."
"What we didn't do was to beat up on oil producers," he said.
"There was discussion on choices in biofuels ... a better energy mix and the impact of that on climate change.
"The key question is adequate supply of crude. And there might not be sufficient investment in refining capacity."
The two-day G20 meeting was the first to be hosted by an African country and the first to hold talks with the new heads of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF); Robert Zoellick and Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
The meeting saw talks on the need for reform for both of institutions, with Manuel saying discussions were "very candid."