IEA Policy Forum in Riga advances regional energy security and deeper cooperation

The International Energy Agency (IEA) gathered key stakeholders and experts for a two-day policy forum in Riga, Latvia this week to focus on strategies to strengthen energy security with an emphasis on emergency preparedness.

The workshop opened with remarks from Latvia’s Minister of Climate and Energy, Kaspars Melnis, who highlighted the importance of international cooperation to address shared vulnerabilities and the hybrid threats facing the energy sector.

Throughout the workshop, the urgent need to bolster crisis readiness was underscored considering growing risks to energy security across the oil, gas and electricity sectors.

The participants discussed practical measures that can be taken to protect energy infrastructure against physical and cyber threats, drawing on lessons from experiences in Ukraine. The effectiveness of a variety of models for holding and financing emergency reserves of oil and gas was considered while lessons were shared on how to build an effective load shedding plan fit for an evolving electricity sector. The participants also discussed the need for reliable data to calculate key indicators that can help quantify and clarify energy security risks.

In addition to officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, the workshop brought together representatives from the IEA secretariat, the European Commission, the Energy Community, Latvia’s Ministry of Climate and Energy, the United Kingdom’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence, Gas Infrastructure Europe, the Estonian Stockpiling Agency, Possessor and S&P Global.

The policy forum concluded with strong call to deepen cooperation on emergency preparedness, crisis response coordination and infrastructure protection. The IEA’s Global Energy Relations and Energy Security and Emergency divisions will continue to assist participating countries in strengthening energy security and bolstering resilience under the next phase of the EU4Energy Programme.

About EU4Energy

The IEA is leading the implementation of the EU4Energy Programme funded by the European Union (EU) for 5 countries of the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

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