AOMORI, Japan, June 8 (AFP): Eleven nations that guzzle nearly two-thirds of the world's energy met Sunday to discuss record oil prices as host Japan aired fears that the world may plunge into recession.
Energy ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) industrial powers held a one-hour meeting here followed by wider talks with China, India and South Korea.
"If we leave this situation as it is, it could lead to a recession of the world economy," Japan's energy minister Akira Amari, the host of the meeting, said in an opening address.
"Ensuring energy security, including stability of the oil market, has become one of the top priorities for every country," he said.
The meeting after oil prices Friday posted their highest ever one-day gain of nearly 11 dollars, hitting a new record of 138.54 dollars a barrel in New York trade.
The G8 groups Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
The talks in Aomori, a hub of Japan's nuclear energy industry 600 kilometres north of Tokyo, are one of a series of meetings leading up to the G8 summit on July 7-9 when climate change is expected to be a top issue.
Amari said that the 11 nations meeting in Aomori together consume 65 per cent of world energy while also releasing 65 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming.
"Climate change and energy issues are two sides of the same coin," Amari said. "It is indispensable to solve these problems together."
"What action we take amid the current hardship will greatly affect the solution to the world's energy problems," he said, adding he also expected in-depth discussions on energy saving and innovative technology.
Lawmakers of US President George W Bush's Republican Party Friday blocked a bill before Congress to force major curbs by industry in greenhouse gas emissions.
Republican senators said that the "cap-and-trade" legislation would cause more hardship for an economy struggling to cope with the record oil prices.
The United States is the only major industrial nation to reject the Kyoto Protocol mandating emission curbs. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is expected Monday to announce a cap-and-trade system to help the country come up to speed in meeting its own commitments.
The 11-nation talks came a day after United States and Asia's four largest powers in a separate round of talks voiced "serious concerns" about spiralling oil prices and called for more investment to keep markets well supplied.
They also supported a gradual reduction in politically sensitive fuel subsidies, although China and India made clear they would not act soon.
Nations participating in the talks are Sunday expected to discuss an initiative for international cooperation on energy saving and developing clean energy, including setting up energy-saving plans by individual countries.
Japan, Europe and the United States have been discussing creating a framework for exchanging information on energy-saving practices, called the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC).
The 11 nations are expected to adopt a joint statement and supplementary statement on the IPEEC at the end of the meeting, a Japanese government official said.
