Energy and Development

Introduction

I want to thank the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Under Secretary Gale Buchanan for hosting this conference and for inviting me to participate. Increased use and production of biofuels helps meet energy security, air quality, and climate change goals and the development of biofuels will have an increasingly important benefit on the American and global economies – these are all areas in which the Department of State and my bureau, Oceans, Environment, and Science, play an active role.

I know during the last two days you’ve discussed priorities, challenges, and opportunities in biofuel production. You’ve talked about new exciting technologies for feedstock and converting biomass, such as switchgrass, into fuel. You’ve shared concerns about sustainability of biofuel production and environmental impacts, as well as economic outlooks and considerations. Indeed, Dr. Lee told us China is now taking a look at possible trade-offs between food and fuel. And you’ve discussed ways to better share new, exciting research in the future. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to come here and listen to all the discussions today because in addition to all of our work on biofuels, the United States is focused on a wide variety of renewable energy solutions.

Today, I’d like to provide a few specific examples of our domestic commitment to biofuels and other renewable energy sources; second, to discuss our foreign policy on biofuels and other renewables; and finally, I’d like to talk about an exciting event that the U.S. Government is hosting next year: the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, (WIREC)

USG Policy on Energy and Development

Energy policy and economic development are inherently linked; energy is a fundamental driver of development. Access to energy and energy services boosts crop production, drives industry, creates jobs, lights schools, and provides power to health facilities.

For less developed countries in particular, energy is a key enabler of growth. But it can be a hindrance to growth if it is not available, or only available at high prices. As we strive to help countries develop, we must help them reduce energy poverty.

U.S. energy policy seeks to enhance energy conservation and efficiency, to modernize and protect energy infrastructure and build strategic oil stocks, and to diversity energy sources and diversify energy fuel types, which is where biofuels comes in. Sustainable energy security is, and will continue to be, a leading U.S. Government priority. It is one of the major challenges facing the world in the coming generation.

USG Biofuels Policy

The United States has been focused on increased use and production of biofuels for many years. Recently, President Bush increased our commitment to biofuels. In his 2007 State of the Union Address, President Bush outlined his “Twenty in Ten” plan, which aims to reduce U.S. dependence on imported petroleum, promote use of alternative fuels, and improve U.S. energy efficiency and infrastructure.

20 in 10 will increase the supply of renewable and alternative fuels by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017. This is nearly five times the 2012 target now in law. In 2017, this will displace 15 percent of projected annual gasoline use.

20 in 10 also calls for reforming and modernizing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for cars and extending the current light truck rule. In 2017, this will reduce projected annual gasoline use by up to 8.5 billion gallons.

In addition to fuel savings, the plan will help confront climate change by stopping the projected growth of carbon dioxide emissions from cars, light trucks, and SUVs within 10 years.

The President’s plan calls for America’s global leadership to encourage our friends and allies to consider similar policies, and our biofuels efforts at home and in the region advance this call.

We are also very focused on next generation biofuels technologies such as cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass and other non-food stocks. In addition to USDA funding of $500 million per year, in 2007 the Department of Energy announced nearly $1 billion in funding for biofuels research and development.

Domestic initiatives on other renewable energy

It is not just in the transportation sector where the U.S. is focused on renewable energy. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes over $14.5 billion in tax incentives designed to increase use of renewable fuels from 2005 to 2015.

The Advanced Energy Initiative announced in President Bush’s 2006 State of the Union is accelerating advanced energy technologies, including the Solar America Initiative, the Biomass/Biofuels Initiative, and the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. By investing in these and other technologies, AEI will allow us to alter the way we power our homes and automobiles within 20 years.

The U.S. invests significant resources in wind, photovoltaic, geothermal, and biomass. Many of these technologies have made considerable progress in price competitiveness, but there remain opportunities to reduce manufacturing, operating, and maintenance costs of many of these technologies.

Investment in renewable energy technologies is also a very important component of the nearly $3 billion annual investment the United States makes in our climate change technology program.

International Biofuels Policy

We’re doing a lot at home to advance biofuels, but we’re also working with our global partners by sharing technologies and best practices, and encouraging more investment in biofuels both bilaterally and through multilateral institutions.

Bilaterally, we are engaging with our partners on a series of initiatives and agreements, particularly here in the Western Hemisphere.

There are several key areas of US energy cooperation in this region. First, on March 9, Secretary Rice and Brazilian Foreign Minister Amorim signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance cooperation on biofuels. In the Memorandum we agreed to cooperate to:

1) advance the research and development of next generation biofuels technology. We want to take advantage of good work in Brazil and biodiesel developments in Germany. We want to expand cooperative research so our research and development dollars go further.

2) bring the benefits of biofuels to select third countries through feasibility studies and technical assistance aimed at stimulating private sector investment in biofuels, and

3) help expand the global biofuels market by establishing compatible standards and codes.

Since signing the MOU, the U.S. and Brazil have accomplished a lot:

Bilaterally, we’ve had several high-level reciprocal visits to advance a research and development agenda on biofuels technology. In fact today, State’s Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agriculture Affairs, Reuben Jeffrey, is in Brazil and held a series of high level meetings, including an MOU steering group meeting. In September, the U.S. will host a team of Brazilian scientists to U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture labs.

Regionally, our efforts are initially targeted at one of the most oil dependent regions of the world, Central America and the Caribbean. We selected Haiti, the Dominican Republic, St Kitts and Nevis, and El Salvador as the first group of target countries.

In St Kitts and Nevis, we are working with the Organization of American States which will present its biomass-to-energy study to the local government next week.

The State Department is pleased to have sponsored the visit of representatives from these four target countries to be with us here today in Minnesota, along with other members of our team working on the MOU.

Globally, we’ve reached agreement with the European Commission and Brazil to a roadmap to achieve biofuels standards and codes compatibility by the end of 2007. This work falls under the International Biofuels Forum that also includes China, India, and South Africa.

International Renewable Fuel Policy

We are encouraged by the Caribbean’s interest in alterative energies and efforts to diversify away from hydrocarbon sources. Wind, solar, biofuels… all are examples of potential solutions to promote greater energy independence. We believe regional efforts, such as work under the CARICOM energy task force, are excellent mechanisms to advance Caribbean energy security.

In June, President Bush invited all CARICOM Heads of State to Washington to discuss a range of issues integral to the strong U.S.-Caricom relationship. Energy was a key component of our agenda.

Worldwide, enthusiasm for renewable energy has increased dramatically since the previous international renewable energy conferences – in Beijing, China in 2005 and Bonn, Germany in 2004. Nations now more fully recognize the imperative to promote widespread adoption of renewable energy such as biofuels, wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro energies.

And the United States, through the Agency for International Development, is collaborating with those nations on a number of renewable energy projects – from a wind mapping initiative in Pakistan to rebuilding hydropower facilities in Afghanistan to studies on the expansion of bio-diesel for transportation in the Asia-Pacific region.

We are also working in a variety of international multilateral fora such as the Asia-Pacific Parnership for clean energy and development, the Renewables Task Force, the Global Bioenergy Partnership, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, and more than 80 projects with Japan, Australia, Korea, and India, among others.

Finally, I would like to speak to you about something dear to my heart.

In March of 2008, the United States will host in Washington, DC the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008 – WIREC.

WIREC will be the third global ministerial level event on renewable energy and will be an important opportunity for world ministers to show their commitment to renewable energy. The ministers will discuss how renewable energy advances our shared goals for increasing sustainable development and energy security while addressing the global challenge of climate change.

The United States is well positioned to host such an event, as America is a major producer of renewable energies such as biofuels, and we are a principal developer of many renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind energy and battery. The U.S. is also a substantial marketplace for renewable energy industries globally.

WIREC 2008 will provide an opportunity to advance renewable energy even more by bringing world leaders together to raise issues, exchange information, share experiences and best practices, and provide a global platform to highlight and promote strategies for significant development and adoption of renewable energy systems worldwide, including second generation biofuels.

WIREC goals dovetail nicely with many of the goals of this conference: advancing energy security, climate change, air quality, and sustainable development goals, including agriculture and rural development; demonstrating global leadership in renewable energy research, policy development, technology innovation, commercialization and deployment; and fostering collaboration between industry and government to help solve global energy challenges.

WIREC will advance energy security, climate change, air quality, and sustainable development goals by producing the following outcomes:

Political Support and Public Awareness: WIREC will showcase broad, high-level commitment for deployment of renewable energy technologies as a key strategy for dealing with energy security, climate change, air quality, and sustainable development. This includes broader market opportunities for agricultural producers and wealth creation in the rural sector worldwide.

New and Strengthened Actions: WIREC will serve as a showcase and launching pad for concrete initiatives undertaken by the public and private sectors to promote widespread adoption of cost effective renewable energy technologies. Building on the hundreds of practical initiatives in the Bonn International Action Plan and UN’s database of Partnerships for Sustainable Development, WIREC can continue the dialogue about practical, on-the-ground action.

Innovative Tools for Disseminating Solutions: WIREC will play a catalytic role in putting the world’s best renewable energy solutions at the fingertips of those facing the world’s biggest energy challenges. WIREC will seek to advance the state of the art in collecting and disseminating best practices to end users, building on work done by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the European Commission, the U.S. Government, donor agencies, International Financial Institutions, and multi-stakeholder partnerships (e.g., REN-21, Renewable Energy for Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP)), as well as many other organizations and programs.

With this conference and WIREC next year, we have an excellent opportunity to move forward on energy security cooperation in concrete ways. Reaching agreement on specific actions in key areas can send a powerful political signal to our partners, the public, media and others.

But governments must show the way toward development, including creating the conditions for private sector growth and investment to help their region compete for global capital.

Together we are responsible for collectively promoting energy security through long-term solutions that address the challenge of maintaining sufficient, affordable, and reliable energy supplies, while at the same time sustaining global economic growth and environmental stewardship.

As Theodore Roosevelt said: “To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust land instead of using it to enhance its usefulness…will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed.”

We have many challenges ahead of us to find this balance between good environmental stewardship and economic development, but I believe growing economies and sustainable resources can be complementary, not competing interests. And I am optimistic that this conference and WIREC puts us on the right path to energy security and sustainable development.