The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), along with other governments, this week announced six new initiatives that will expand international cooperation around tackling the climate crisis, boosting clean energy innovation, and advancing an equitable transition to a net-zero future. These efforts, coordinated by DOE’s Office of International Affairs in support of President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate, will help America meet the Biden Administration’s ambitious domestic goals of 100% clean electricity by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while creating millions of good-paying jobs across the nation.

“President Biden is ready to go big on a clean energy transition that remakes our economy, builds new businesses, and puts millions of Americans to work,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “These initiatives will move the U.S. and the world forward on lowering emissions, deploying new technologies, and creating jobs so that we can do right by our planet and our people.”

At the Leaders Summit today, Secretary Granholm also announced that DOE will put forth new goals in the coming weeks for bold, achievable leaps to lower the cost of next-generation clean energy technologies, including: clean, renewable hydrogen; battery cells for electric vehicles and energy storage; and industrial and atmospheric carbon capture. These are in addition to DOE’s previously announced goal to cut the price of solar by more than half by 2030.

The six new global initiatives were announced throughout Earth Week and include:

1. Reinvigorating U.S. leadership and participation in Mission Innovation to advance clean energy technologies. President Biden and Secretary Granholm announced that through DOE, the U.S. is planning to host the co-located 13th Annual Clean Energy Ministerial and the 7th Annual Mission Innovation Ministerial in 2022. DOE led the creation of both important forums for advancing clean energy technology innovation and deployment around the world, with more than 30 countries participating today. In addition, the U.S. intends to launch and lead, together with international partners, a major new Mission Innovation research mission on carbon dioxide removal at COP26. The U.S. will also co-lead a new research Mission to decarbonize international shipping with Denmark, and join a new research Mission on hydrogen, both slated to launch at the June 2021 Mission Innovation ministerial. First launched by President Obama and DOE in 2015, Mission Innovation is a minister-led forum of major economies from around the world that cooperate on transformative technical innovations through “research Missions,” while raising ambition for public research, development, and demonstration investments and encouraging commercialization through the private sector and stakeholders.
2. Launching a new partnership with India on speeding up clean energy deployment.  In its new nationally determined contribution, the U.S. has set an economy-wide target of reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50–52% below 2005 levels in 2030. As part of its climate mitigation efforts, India has set a target of installing 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. During the summit, President Biden and Prime Minister Modi announced a new “U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership” negotiated by the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Change, DOE, and other U.S. agencies aimed at speeding clean energy deployment; demonstrating and scaling innovative clean technologies needed to decarbonize sectors including industry, transportation, power, and buildings; building capacity to measure, manage, and adapt to the risks of climate-related impacts; and mobilizing finance. Secretary Granholm will co-chair the revamped Strategic Clean Energy Partnership under this initiative with Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Pradhan.
3. Joining a new public-private consortium to cut power sector emissions by at least 50% over 2020 levels in the next 10 years. To speed progress toward a carbon-free power system by 2035 at home and around the world, the U.S. and the United Kingdom joined leading system operators, world-class research institutes, and private institutions from around the world to launch the Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium. Coordinated by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the G-PST will share best-in-class operational and engineering and workforce development solutions with power system operators to help them permanently change their emissions trajectories while simultaneously improving grid reliability, resiliency, and security and supporting economic growth. At the same time, American grid operators will be able to use these solutions to speed our transition at home and unlock millions of new jobs across the country.
4. Establishing a cooperative forum between major oil and gas producers to develop pragmatic net-zero strategies. In support of efforts to achieve America’s goal of net-zero emissions by midcentury, DOE, together with the energy ministries from Canada, Norway, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, representing 40% of global oil and gas production, announced the formation of the Net Zero Producers Forum (NPF), a cooperative forum that will create pragmatic net-zero strategies, including methane abatement, advancing the circular carbon economy approach, development and deployment of clean-energy and carbon capture and storage technologies, diversification from reliance on hydrocarbon revenues, and other measures in line with each country’s national circumstances. The inaugural meeting of the NPF will take place Fall 2021.
5. Creating a global initiative to support the clean energy transition for islands and remote communities. Working with the Department of State and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Secretary Granholm announced that DOE will lead the Energy Transitions Initiative-Global (ETI-G). ETI-G will leverage DOE’s flagship Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI) to create a global network of resources that advances self-reliant, local decision-making to facilitate the development of reliable, resilient energy systems for island nations around the world. As part of this initiative, DOE’s NREL published the Energy Resilience Playbook, which lays out innovative pathways to transitions to clean energy. DOE will also hold a series of technical exchanges in partnership with the Caribbean and Pacific Islands on planning for resilience and powering critical infrastructure.
6. Joining an initiative to ensure energy communities around the world are included in the clean energy transition. The U.S. is committed to helping energy workers and communities address the challenges and equitably capitalize on the opportunities associated with the clean energy transition. Secretary Granholm convened the energy ministers of Canada, India, and the European Commission, along with representatives from the labor and advocacy communities, to discuss global efforts to address this critical issue.  Furthermore, DOE announced that it is joining Canada and the European Commission to launch the “Empowering People” Initiative at the Clean Energy Ministerial this June. The Empowering People Initiative is focused on promoting just and equitable clean energy transitions around the world through building diverse, inclusive workforces that ensure environmental, social, and economic sustainability in a net-zero future.

KeyFacts Energy News: Energy Transition