President Biden and Chancellor Merkel today at the White House launched the U.S.-Germany Climate and Energy Partnership. As part of our ongoing work together on addressing the threat of climate change, this Partnership will strengthen climate ambition and deepen our collaboration on the policies and sustainable technologies needed to accelerate the global net-zero future. Both countries are committed to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and taking decisive action this decade to keep a 1.5-degree Celsius temperature limit within reach. We share the goals of leading the world to develop the innovative tools urgently needed to accelerate global climate action and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in their economies by 2050 at the latest. The United States and Germany will invest in a sustainable economy that drives inclusive growth, supports communities, and creates good jobs and a healthy environment on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.
The Climate and Energy Partnership will be co-chaired from the U.S. side by the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the Secretary of Energy, and from the German side by the Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, with participation from the U.S. Department of State, Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other agencies or ministries as appropriate.
The United States and Germany intend the Partnership to include three key areas of cooperation:
Climate Action: The United States and Germany will push to raise global climate ambition and work bilaterally and multilaterally to accelerate reaching a net-zero future. We will develop actionable roadmaps and policies for near-term and long-term reduction of emissions to keep a 1.5-degree Celsius limit in sight; coordinate on climate and trade agendas; mobilize finance for sustainable development; advance sectoral decarbonization and address short-lived climate pollutants; and coordinate on common interests in multilateral fora including the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the climate tracks in the G20, and G7.
Transformational Energy Technologies: The United States and Germany will collaborate on developing and deploying critical energy technologies. We will advance renewable energy technologies and grid integration of variable renewable energy including through energy storage; collaborate on sustainable hydrogen technologies; cooperate on efficiency measures across the building and industrial sectors; increase the adoption of electric vehicles; promote technology commercialization from research institutions to industry; advance reliable and resilient energy systems and supply chains; cooperate on advanced sustainable energy systems while promoting inclusivity, supporting communities, and strengthening the workforce; and coordinate in multilateral energy fora including the energy tracks in the G20 and G7, Mission Innovation, Clean Energy Ministerial, International Energy Agency, and IRENA.
Energy Transitions in Emerging Economies: The United States and Germany will collaborate to accelerate sustainable energy in emerging economies critical to tackling the climate crisis and preventing the use of energy as a coercive tool. We will mobilize investment in Central and Eastern Europe, including by supporting Ukraine’s energy transformation, energy efficiency, and energy security; mobilize investment in sustainable energy in major and growing emitters around the world such as those in South and Southeast Asia; develop energy policy and regulations for increased adoption of renewables and sustainable fuel alternatives like sustainable hydrogen; and pursue technology and technical assistance collaboration with major emerging economies to speed decisive action to curb emissions this decade and enable swift net-zero transitions.
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