ST. PETERSBURG, June 10 (RIA Novosti) - The finance ministers of the Group of Eight industrialized nations adopted a statement Saturday on access to energy resources as part of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The ministers said it was necessary to focus on energy strategies in the fight against poverty, access to modern energy services for the most socially underprivileged sections of society, and availability of energy supplies to hospitals and schools.
The ministers stressed the importance of access to less environmentally harmful fuels for use in homes, which could help to reduce emissions.
The statement confirmed pledges made at the 2005 Gleneagles G8 Summit to develop clean energy and ensure stable global development, including by means of improving access to energy sources.
The ministers said G8 countries intend to find means of boosting efforts to help poor countries to overcome energy poverty, and called for bilateral and multilateral donors to increase aid in this area.
The eight Millennium Development Goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental stability; and develop a global partnership for development, by the target date of 2015.
