APEC Energy Ministers Unite Against Soaring Oil Prices

APEC energy ministers have agreed to boost cooperation on power supply amid soaring crude oil prices and growing demand for artificial intelligence-related energy.

The agreement was made at their two-day meeting in Beijing, which ended on Friday. The meeting brought together energy ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, comprising 21 member economies including Japan, the United States, China, and Russia.

The APEC area accounts for half of the world's energy demand, making it hard hit by higher crude oil prices triggered by turmoil in the Middle East. The energy ministers vowed to strengthen energy supply chain resilience through cooperation on topics such as voluntary information-sharing, risk assessment, strategic reserve management, cybersecurity, and physical resilience of critical energy infrastructure.

The joint statement also highlighted the importance of energy security cooperation between oil-producing and oil-consuming countries and diversification of supply networks. A task force was established to promote energy planning and AI infrastructure development in an integrated manner, proposed by China as the meeting's host.