Clean Energy Ministerial

Clean Energy Ministers Launch 11 Initiatives at First Clean Energy Ministerial

20 July 2010

On 19–20 July 2010 in Washington, DC, clean energy ministers from 23 major-economy governments, representing more than 80 percent of the world’s energy consumption and 90 percent of global clean energy investment, came together for the first Clean Energy Ministerial. The event provided a unique opportunity for clean energy leaders and stakeholders to plan international collaborative activities designed to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. At the event, ministers launched 11 clean energy initiatives that will unite participating countries in joint efforts to transform markets and support the rapid scale-up of clean energy, enhance energy efficiency, and expand clean energy access.

Among other goals, the 11 initiatives will promote the rapid deployment of electric vehicles, support the growing global market for renewable energy and carbon capture technologies, bring solar lanterns and other improved energy services to people without access to grid-supplied electricity, avoid the need to build more than 500 mid-sized power plants in the next 20 years, and encourage women to pursue careers in clean energy.

The initiatives will pursue low-cost, high-impact technical work that will provide energy decision makers with the up-to-date information and tools they need to improve the policy environment for clean energy worldwide.

Five of the initiatives were launched as part of an effort to help increase energy efficiency and reduce energy waste around the world:

• The Super-Efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative will drive progress by enabling peer-to-peer technical collaborations between national equipment and appliance efficiency experts.
• The Global Superior Energy Performance (GSEP) Partnership will reduce global energy use in industrial facilities and commercial buildings through efforts encouraging continuous improvements in energy efficiency and promoting public-private partnerships in specific technologies or sectors.
• The International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) will help accelerate the development of smart electricity grids around the world through intergovernmental collaboration on methodologies, tools, and information-sharing that will improve the understanding of how smart grids can facilitate clean energy deployment, improve energy efficiency, and increase grid reliability.
• The Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) will help countries deliver on their electric vehicle deployment targets through sister-city partnerships, collaboration in technology development, and dialogue to identify and encourage best practice deployment strategies.
• The Clean Energy Solutions Center will help governments with the design and adoption of clean energy policies and programs that support the deployment of transformational low-carbon technologies through a virtual "center" of information and tools.

Four of the initiatives were designed to accelerate the deployment of low-carbon energy sources around the world:

• The Carbon Capture, Use, and Storage (CCUS) Action Group will develop a global strategic implementation plan to make recommendations about how to accelerate global CCUS deployment by 2020.
• The Multilateral Solar and Wind Working Group will support the growing global market for solar and wind technologies through two initial projects that will further lower the costs of providing wind and solar energy to all regions of the world.
• The Sustainable Development of Hydropower Initiative will promote the sustainable development of cost-effective hydropower in developing countries.
• The Multilateral Bioenergy Working Group will accelerate the deployment of bioenergy through two initial projects: development of a global bioenergy atlas and a long-term strategy on joint capacity building.

Two of the initiatives were launched to expand access to the clean energy revolution:

• The Solar and LED Energy Access Program (SLED) will focus on the approximately 1.6 billion people who lack access to grid electricity. SLED will work to improve the global market for affordable, clean, and quality-assured off-grid appliances by addressing barriers in market development.
• The Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Women’s Initiative will encourage women to pursue careers in clean energy and contribute to the creation of future clean energy technologies.

During the event, ministers also met in a government-only session to share successful policies, programs, and other steps taken to develop and deploy clean energy. They discussed issues associated with scaling up clean energy amid fiscal austerity, as well as the potential to realize dramatic energy efficiency gains through coordinated action.

In addition, a public forum brought ministers together with more than 500 stakeholders from business and industry, including World Economic Forum member companies and representatives from nongovernmental and multinational organizations, to discuss energy efficiency, clean power supply, and energy access and to make announcements of private-sector commitments aligned with Clean Energy Ministerial goals.

Ministers also looked ahead to future ministerial meetings. The United Arab Emirates announced that it would host the second Clean Energy Ministerial in 2011, and the United Kingdom announced it would host the third Clean Energy Ministerial.