Joint Statement of the United States and Italy on Climate Change Science and Technology

„On Monday, June 16, 2003, the United States and Italy convened the second „U.S.-Italy Joint Meeting on Climate Change Science and Technology“ in Washington, D.C. The meeting was conducted following the 2001 pledge of President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to conduct joint research on climate change science and technology.

The respective delegations were led by Dr. Harlan Watson, Senior Climate Negotiator and Special Representative of the U.S. Department of State, and Dr. Corrado Clini, Director General of the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory.

The U.S. delegation included representatives from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Oregon State University. The Italian delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Territory, the Italian Embassy, Ministry of Education, University and Research, universities and other scientific research centers, as well as representatives from the private sector.

The United States and Italy reviewed progress on a wide range of cooperative science and technology areas. Joint scientific activities focused on climate change modeling, atmospheric processes, the carbon cycle, remote sensing, human and ecosystem health, and ocean observations and the ocean ecosystem. On the technology side, the discussions highlighted cooperation on the hydrogen infrastructure and energy technologies, including fuel cells, renewable energy, advanced power systems, and advanced energy technologies including carbon capture and sequestration. The two countries announced their intention to promote the exchange of graduate students, young scientists, and senior scientists in the area of climate change science and technology.

Joint efforts are advancing our understanding of the effects of aerosols on cloud properties and climate forcing and improving our ability to simulate and predict climate variability from the global to the regional scale. Cooperative carbon cycle research includes projects to reduce uncertainties in the carbon budget, development of technologies for measuring carbon flux, and to evaluate carbon balances of the U.S. West Coast and Italy. The U.S. and Italy agreed to organize a Workshop on Clean Energy Technologies, in Sacramento, California in September 2003. Italian and U.S. experts from government, the academic community, the private sector and financial institutions will discuss issues of implementation of new low-emission energy technologies, such as hydrogen production from renewable sources and fossil fuels, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy, clean fossil fuels and fuel cell application (stationary and automotive). In anticipation of the workshop, the U.S. and Italy will amend the bilateral agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Ministry of Productive Activities to include the Ministry of Environment and Territory.