Draft2:Energy and Climate Partnership for the Americas
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The Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) was announced by U.S. President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas in April 2009. The ECPA is conceived as a flexible mechanism to accelerate sustainable energy in the Americas. ECPA is built upon seven pillars, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy poverty, cleaner and more efficient use of fossil fuels, infrastructure, sustainable land use and forestry, and adaptation.
A number of collaborative initiatives form the core foundation of the ECPA. These include the following:
Envoys Program: aims at enabling the sharing of best practices and expertise in research, development, design and implementation of clean energy programs. Other activities include:
Lighting the Americas: Seeks to provide electricity to the 34 million people in Latin America who currently are without access.
U.S. Trade and Development Agency’s (USTDA) Clean Energy Exchange Program of the Americas: Brings nearly 50 Latin American and Caribbean energy officials and project sponsors to the United States on a series of reverse trade missions.
Low Carbon Communities of the Americas projects:
Caribbean Renewable Energy Strategy: Aims to enable countries to implement actions and strategies geared towards increasing the sustainability of their energy supplies while reducing carbon emissions from the energy sector through the development and use of renewable energy and energy efficiency systems.
Dominica Wind Project: Seeks to prove the viability of small, distributed wind generation as an alternative to traditional, megawatt-class utility-scale turbines.
Costa Rican Energy Efficiency Training Center: The center will train and certify professionals in energy efficient technology and auditing procedures, and also help expand the technical knowledge and capabilities of the Central American region on efficiency services and programs
Colombia Biomass Initiative: The objective is to develop a technological plan for use of agro-industrial residue biomass to produce energy.
Energy Innovation Center: Promotes and advances clean energy projects through mobilization of funding, knowledge dissemination and technical expertise.
Chile Renewable Energy Center: The long-term goal for the center is to serve as a tool and resource for the region.
Topic at DOE
The Office of International Affairs (IA) coordinates DOE participation in the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA). DOE and the State Department’s Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs chair ECPA for the United States. ECPA is a key multilateral mechanism to advance clean energy deployment and reduce the climate change impacts of energy technologies in the Western Hemisphere. ECPA is a flexible mechanism through which governments in the Western Hemisphere, on a voluntary basis, may lead multi-country or bilateral initiatives.
Announced at the Summit of the Americas in 2009, the goals of the partnership are to accelerate clean energy development and deployment, advance energy security, and reduce energy poverty by sharing best practices, encouraging investment, and cooperating on technology research, development and deployment.
ECPA comprises seven pillars that address: energy efficiency; renewable energy; cleaner and more efficient use of fossil fuels; energy infrastructure; energy poverty; sustainable forests and land use; and adaptation. Over 40 ECPA projects have been undertaken. The Organization of American States (OAS) hosts the ECPA website, which contains details on the many ECPA activities completed and undertaken, and serves as clearing house for projects, events and activities targeting energy and climate issues in the region. Planning for the next ECPA Energy Ministerial is underway for late 2014 and will be hosted by the Government of Mexico.[1]
DOE points of contact
Seven Pillars
Energy Efficiency: Promote best policy practices through assistance in developing building codes and other standards in the industrial and residential sectors, as well as training for energy audits.
Renewable Energy: Accelerate clean energy deployment via project support, policy dialogues, scientific collaboration, and the clean energy technology network.
Cleaner and More Efficient Use of Fossil Fuels: Promote clean energy technologies to reduce both conventional pollution and the carbon footprint of fossil fuels, as well as best practices on land use management.
Energy Infrastructure: Foster modernized, integrated, and more resilient energy infrastructure, particularly electrical grids and gas pipelines.
Energy Poverty: Target urban and rural energy poverty with strategies to promote sustainable urban development and improve access to modern clean energy services and appropriate technologies in rural areas that can improve public health and reduce fuel wood use that benefits forest management.
Sustainable Forests and Land Use: Reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and enhance carbon sequestration in the land use sector, including through the conservation and sustainable management of forests.
Adaptation: Assist vulnerable countries and communities with strategies to understand and reduce their vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change.
Sessions
1st Ministerial
2nd Ministerial
At the Second Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) Ministerial, hosted May 25-26, 2015 in Merida, Mexico, Energy Ministers of Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama and the United States announced the creation of a new Western Hemisphere Clean Energy Initiative. The participating countries intend to work toward a collective doubling of renewable sources such as solar, wind, small-scale hydropower, sustainable biomass, and geothermal, by 2030.
This initiative seeks to increase collaboration among participating countries to:
- Facilitate each country’s roadmap to achieve its renewable energy goals in the context of its broader energy infrastructure
- Increase availability of quality renewable resource data
- Share modeling and simulation toolkits
- Cooperate on effective energy policy development and planning
- Enhance the flexibility and resilience of grid systems
- Foster energy innovation and promote workforce capacity and training
- Focus on the energy-water nexus
- Promote energy access, including for remote communities
Participating countries in the Western Hemisphere Clean Energy Initiative intend to foster momentum for technology and policy solutions in support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP21) meeting in Paris and beyond. They will identify areas of cooperation with other global and regional efforts, governments, international organizations, private sector, and civil society groups. Participating countries will report on tangible results at the Third ECPA Ministerial to be hosted by Chile in 2017.[2]
3rd - Chile
Related
External links
- ECPA - A Voluntary, Flexible Partnership
- Implementing President Obama’s Vision
- ECPA’s Impact – A Snapshot
References
- "US to help Caribbean end foreign oil dependency". Associated Press. Caribbean Net News. 16 April 2010. http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-22655--16-16--.html.
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (16 April 2010). "Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) Ministerial". Inter-American Development Bank, Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of State. http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/04/140286.htm.