IEA for EU4Energy holds regional training on monthly data in Odessa, Ukraine

IEA for EU4Energy held a week-long training event on monthly energy data in Odessa Ukraine from 12-16 March. The event, which was combined with the 16th Regional JODI Training Workshop, featured a series of training sessions aiming to promote the importance of monthly data to support energy policy making at the national level, in particular in the field of energy security.

Each of the 10 participating EU4Energy focus countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan) sent five representatives including three from the national statistical office and two from either the ministries in charge of energy or state agencies in charge of oil stocks. Statistics Odessa also participated actively in the event.

In his opening speech, Mr Ihor Verner, Chairman of the State Statistical Service of Ukraine, highlighted the crucial importance of data to support evidence-based policies.

Ihor Verner, Chairman of the State Statistical Service of Ukraine, Photograph: European Commission

The practical training provided a rare opportunity for IEA experts to share expertise on monthly data collection outside of OECD countries – monthly data supports the core energy security mission of the Agency and serves as a basis for the Oil Market report.

In parallel with the statistics training, IEA for EU4energy also organised policy discussions on Sustainable Transport and Renewable Energy Policy Recommendations, each attended by 42 participants. The Sustainable Transport Forum brought together statisticians and training participants for interactive activities and country-specific brainstorming sessions.

The five-day programme also featured the 16^th regional workshop of the Joint Organisations Data Initiative, jointly organised with IEF and the support of the JODI partners: APEC, Eurostat, GECF, IEA, OPEC, OLADE and UNSD.  Participating organisations joined together to highlight the multiple benefits of energy data transparency. The latest manual of the JODI initiative, JODI Gas, was translated for the event.

The IEA is leading the implementation of the EU4Energy Programme funded by the European Union (EU) for 11 Eastern Partnership (EaP) and Central Asian countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

The programme’s aim is to work with these countries to improve energy data capabilities, enhance data collection and monitoring, and assist with evidence-based energy policy design relevant to the country’s needs.