G20 Targets New Global Energy Body

Leaders at the G20 Summit are seeking to lay the foundations for a new global energy trade regime to help ensure open markets and prevent oil and gas supplies being used as tools of foreign policy, the Australian newspaper reported on Saturday.

A central part of the plan, which has the backing of Saudi Arabia and Russia, would be an institution to sit above OPEC and the International Energy Agency, the newspaper said in an unsourced report.

The talks on energy security have not been concluded and could be influenced by the growing debate over climate change, it added.

The G20 agreement is expected to include commitments on security of energy supply, which would preclude embargoes of any sort, and transparency of pricing, according to the Australian.

Limits on the use of energy subsidies and commitments to energy efficiency are also likely to form part of the agreement.

(Reporting by Lincoln Feast)