Energy ministers from the G8 member countries, plus China, India and South Korea, met on Sunday in Aomori, northern Japan to discuss issues, including global warming and soaring crude oil prices.

The three emerging Asian countries were invited to join for the first time to help find solutions.
  
The talks were opened in Aomori a day after United States and Asia's four largest powers voiced "serious concerns" that the global economy was under threat.
  
Japan's energy minister Akira Amari, who said Saturday that rising oil prices were "a major risk factor" for the world economy, was to chair the meeting.
  
Besides energy security, climate change will also be on the agenda for participating countries, which together release 65 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming, and guzzle nearly two-thirds of the world energy.
  
Climate concern will be a priority when leaders of the G8 hold a major summit from July 7 to 9 in Japan's northern resort of Toyako.
  
The 11 nations are on Sunday also expected to discuss an initiative for international cooperation on energy saving and developing clean energy, including setting up energy-saving plans by individual countries.
  
Japan, Europe and the United States have been discussing creating a framework for exchanging information on energy-saving practices.
  
The weekend talks in Aomori, a hub of Japan's nuclear energy industry 600 kilometres (370 miles) north of Tokyo, came just after the single biggest one-day hike in oil prices.
  
Oil prices, which have soared five-fold since 2003, posted their highest ever one-day gain of 10.75 dollars to close at a new record of 138.54 dollars in New York after hawkish remarks by an Israeli official on oil producer Iran.