Members Head to Rio for Senior Officials’ Meeting

Takeaway #1: Recognition of the CEM as a global implementation platform continues to grow

Investment in the CEM as a clean energy implementation platform remains very strong, with members, partner organisations and the workstream community continuing to value the flexible, bottom-up, inclusive and action-oriented approach of the CEM operating model. Links with other international fora continue to grow, with delegates highlighting a number of ways in which they have linked their work to G7, G20 and COP processes, as well as other global and regional platforms.

Representatives from the Japanese G7 Presidency, the Indian G20 Presidency and the UAE COP28 Presidency actively invited the CEM community to strengthen these links in the year ahead. They noted that the CEM community can make valuable contributions to the discussions taking place in these fora, and can also take the lead in implementing the priorities identified at the political level. Delegates also noted that CEM can play an important role in maintaining momentum between policy cycles and in facilitating the cross-fertilisation of ideas and actions between different platforms.

Takeaway #2: The CEM’s initiatives and campaigns remain at the heart of the CEM’s delivery model

One of the CEM’s greatest assets is its ability to convene the clean energy community at the political level through its annual ministerial meeting and to then combine this with year-round technical work in the form of its initiatives and campaigns. This combination means that the CEM community can follow through on the vision set by Ministers and implement the activities through its comprehensive portfolio of workstreams. It is therefore extremely important to optimise this portfolio to ensure that it can deliver at the level of ambition required.

Members noted the importance of maintaining the flexible, bottom-up and action-oriented approach to the CEM’s work, welcoming new activities and initiatives where necessary but also graduating and celebrating the success of activities that have delivered on their goals. Over the year ahead, the CEM workstream community will consider how it can provide inputs to the CEM14 Ministerial meeting and other platforms such as the G7, G20 and COP28. As the CEM workstream portfolio continues to evolve, new topics for international cooperation are currently being discussed. For example, new proposals on decarbonising the marine sector, scaling up battery storage and establishing a hydrogen trade fora are currently being discussed within the CEM.

Takeaway £3: the CEM’s global community is active and ready to drive forward the CEM’s priorities

In all discussions, it was clear that the driving force behind the CEM is the global clean energy community – the powerful combination of the CEM’s membership (28 governments and the European Commission), its partner organisations and implementing organisations, and workstream participants which include business, industry and non-governmental actors. This broad and inclusive approach to multilateral cooperation should be maintained as it helps to avoid duplication and ensure that clean energy expertise from across the clean energy landscape is leveraged.

Many delegates referenced the positive, collaborative spirit of the CEM and encouraged members of the CEM community to lean in and use the CEM to advance their national and international priorities – noting the more you contribute to the CEM, the more you can benefit. A number of CEM members also noted the importance of resources for the CEM so that it can deliver on the level of ambition agreed for ‘CEM 3.0’ and announced that they would provide additional resources to both the CEM Secretariat and CEM workstreams over the coming year.