I want to thank Mike Eckert for the opportunity to speak before ACORE's 4th annual Phase II Policy Forum. This forum has gained a well earned reputation as the "must attend" assembly for the national renewable energy leadership community that can make a difference in the adoption of policies and practices needed to accelerate the up-take of all forms of renewable energy.

In this regard, I am sure you have thoroughly discussed the various permutations of the energy bill now in the conference committee. I look forward to learning about the results of your deliberations from my colleagues who attended today.

We hope, similarly, to accelerate sharply the global market adoption of renewable energy through our deliberations at the ministerial meeting March 4-6, 2008 of the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, or WIREC.

We are delighted that ACORE is our partner in WIREC and we noted with interest its Outlook on Renewable Energy in America of March 2007, where ACORE projected a possible 635 GW of RE electricity generation by 2025 and the possible replacement of 30-40 percent of current U.S. petroleum products with biofuels by 2030.

I will speak more about WIREC in a few minutes, but first I will outline the U.S. approach to international renewable energy policy. I am conscious that I am with renewable energy experts, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, so I will concentrate my remarks on the foreign policy aspects of advancing the global uptake of renewable energy as an important example of transformational diplomacy.

Transformational Diplomacy is the term Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has used to describe America's foreign policy.

What she means by this is our goal is to, and I quote: "work with our many partners around the world to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people -- and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.

To further define it: "transformational diplomacy is rooted in partnership, not paternalism -- in doing things with other people, not for them. We seek to use America's diplomatic power to help foreign citizens to better their own lives, and to build their own nations, and to transform their own futures."

One of the most dynamic ways in which we can achieve our transformational foreign policy vision is through the transformational energy climate in the world today.

President Bush addressed that climate when he spoke at the Major Economies meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change in September 2007. He said: "Energy security and climate change are two of the great challenges of our time…the world's response will help shape the future of the global economy and the condition of our environment for generations to come."

He cited renewable energy many times as one part of the answer to these challenges.

The latter part of his statement is an important point, because 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.

We also know that cleaner, more efficient energy benefits the environment. U.S. energy policy seeks to enhance energy conservation and efficiency, and to diversify energy sources and diversify energy fuel types; which is where renewable energy comes in.

In sum, RE helps answer U.S. foreign policy questions of:

1. Climate change mitigation because it lowers the GHG intensity of electricity generation and transportation sectors. It is a "wedge" along with clean coal and nuclear to achieve our long-term climate goals.

2. It helps answer sustainable development questions because lack of energy increases poverty.

3. Energy Security because countries recognize that they are vulnerable when they depend on one or two energy sources.

Senator Richard Lugar in 2006 eloquently framed the energy security question in the following manner:

"No one who is honestly assessing the decline of American leverage around the world due to energy security dependence can fail to see that energy is the albatross of U.S. national security. We believe that U.S. national security will be served by a more robust coordination of all the elements that contribute to energy security. Our policies should be targeted to replace hydrocarbons with carbohydrates."

Recognizing the global nature and the serious challenge of these issues, the United States continues to work collaboratively with nations across the globe.

Active initiatives and partnerships are identifying solutions by reducing greenhouse gas intensity, creating new investment, building local capacity, and removing barriers to the introduction of cleaner technologies. They are examples of transformational diplomacy in action.

I want to briefly describe a number of these initiatives and partnerships to illustrate how we're advancing the use of renewable energy and changing the political environment, or political will to tackle greenhouse gas emissions by sharing technologies and best practices, and by encouraging more investment in renewable energy around the globe. We do this through a variety of ways ranging from better data gathering and information management, policy and regulatory assistance, to innovative financing and project facilitation. But in whatever we do, we normally do it through partnerships and collaborations that leverage the multiple talents and resources often from the private sector needed to sufficiently address the challenges we face.

First, I must mention our active participation in REN21, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, through our seat on the Steering Committee. As its name states, REN21 is a global network of renewable energy experts dedicated to dramatically increasing the adoption of renewable energy technologies. REN21 is actively engaged in a wide range of activities designed to redefine the terms of energy discourse to integrate renewable energy more fulsomely into domestic and international policy discussions.

A second initiative I want to mention is The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP). This partnership was launched at Gleneagles in 2005 by the G-8 plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

The Global Bioenergy Partnership is designed to power a cleaner future by supporting wider, cost-effective biomass and biofuels deployment, particularly in developing countries where biomass use is prevalent.

The United States is actively supporting the Partnership's work, including leading work on developing common methodologies for measuring the greenhouse gas benefits of biofuels.

A third valuable partnership is The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). This is a multi-stakeholder partnership whose goal is to expand the global market for renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies by structuring policy and regulatory initiatives for clean energy and facilitating financing for energy projects.

To date, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership has funded over 100 projects in 44 countries that address market barriers to clean energy in the developing world and economies in transition.

These projects provide new business models, policy recommendations, risk mitigation instruments, handbooks, and databases for advancing renewable energy and energy efficiency, in addition to delivering measurable greenhouse gas reductions.

I might add that both REN-21 and REEEP are cooperating closely in the preparations for WIREC.

Finally, in the category of initiatives to change the enabling environment for renewable energy is the The International Biofuels Forum (IBF). The International Biofuels Forum is a joint project of Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United States and the European Commission that was launched in March of 2007 to develop strategies to promote the sustained use and production of biofuels around the globe.

The forum has created a mechanism to structure the dialogue among some of the biggest producers and consumers of biofuels to address energy security and global warming issues and to use biofuels as an instrument for development.

IBF is working closely with Global Bioenergy Partnership to create common standards and codes for bioenergy products, to consolidate and facilitate world trade.

In addition to changing the enabling environment, the Department of State also pursues project-oriented initiatives focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and encouraging the uptake of renewable energy.

The first is The Methane to Markets Partnership (M2M). Methane to Markets is an initiative that promotes energy security, improves environmental quality, catalyzes economic growth and reduces greenhouse gas emissions throughout the world.

The Partnership consists of 21 Partners, with the European Commission the most recent partner to join the group. In addition, over 600 private-sector and other government and civil society organizations participate in the Partnership through the Project Network.

Capturing and using "waste" methane provides an additional energy source that stimulates economic growth while reducing global emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas.

The United States, led by the State Department, has committed up to $53 million for the first five years of the Partnership. EPA estimates that this Partnership could recover up to 500-billion cubic feet of natural gas (183 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) annually by 2015.

The second project oriented initiative is The Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP). This Partnership brings together seven major Asia-Pacific countries -- Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Canada, and the United States -- in an effort to address increased energy needs and the associated issues of air pollution, energy security, and climate change.

What makes the approach unique is that Asia-Pacific Partnership activities are identified and supported using an innovative "bottom up" approach. By focusing on experience-based knowledge and technology transfer, particularly from the private sector, the 110 individual projects and activities included in the APP Task Force action plans are already yielding concrete results.

The Partnership provides the U.S. a unique opportunity to engage India and China in constructively moving their energy economies toward a more climate friendly direction.

The Asia-Pacific Partnership has created eight task forces to achieve the initiative's goals: One of these task forces works on renewable energy and distributed power generation.

The Renewable Energy and Distributed Generation Task Force is working to help install biomass-powered distributed generation units in three demonstration sites in Madhya Pradesh, in Uttar Pradesh and in Orissa. The demonstration of renewable energy based power generation and distribution systems will reduce the dependence of these villages on fossil fuel energy and ultimately promote economic independence and entrepreneurship in energy starved rural areas. Also, work is underway to build capacity in three Indian states, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Punjab on the critical issue of grid interconnection for renewables and distributed generation. Working with state government and utilities on this issue will assist in creating a policy and regulatory framework conducive to the diffusion of clean energy throughout India. We are currently working aggressively to replicate work of this kind in China.

In addition to all the initiatives I've mentioned, the United States, through our sister Agency for International Development (AID), is collaborating with several 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. AID also has had great successes with their Global Village Energy Partnership. By 2012 they aim to provide modern energy access to 300 million people, with a heavy emphasis on solar, wind, and hydro power.

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, which as you will read at WIREC 2008.gov, "... will bring together government, civil society, and private business leaders to address the benefits and costs of a major and rapid scale-up in the global deployment of Renewable Energy Technology."

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. There will be four cross-cutting and policy driven themes: Agriculture and Rural Development; Technology, Research and Development; Market Adoption and Deployment; and Finance (Harry Baumes, Jim Fischer, Brian O'Hanlon, Greg Manuel and Andy Karsner).

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. Indeed the global trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007 shows a clear U.S. lead in the number of clean energy incubators reflecting a more commercial attitude toward R&D outside the EU-27. 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 share experiences and best practices and to promote strategies for significant development and adoption of renewable energy systems worldwide, including second generation biofuels. WIREC will also provide national, sub-national and private sector leaders the opportunity to make significant voluntary pledges to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy technology and policies.

The pledges from Bonn 2004 resulted in an estimated GHG emission reduction of 100 million tons per year. After the passage of four years and the strong rise in the price of oil, it seems only natural that we should see greater pledges of RE market uptake and GHG reductions.

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. This enthusiasm has translated in increasing investment activity in renewables.

According to a recent study by the United Nations Environment Program (cited previously), investments in renewable energy reached a record $71 billion in 2006 – a 43 percent increase over 2005. A similar growth trajectory is expected this year.

While the US and EU together accounted for more than 70% of this investment in 2006, there is growing activity in the developing world, especially in China, India and Brazil.

Chinese companies, in fact, are the second largest recipients of venture capital in 2006 after the United States. Last year, India was the largest net buyer of renewable energy companies abroad, mostly in European markets. And Brazil is the largest renewable energy market in the world. More than 75 percent of Brazil's cars are flex-fuel.

Therefore, I hope and expect to see many in this audience back in Washington next March to make WIREC the success that we all hope it will be.

I believe growing economies and sustainable resources can be complementary, not competing interests.

I believe renewable energy is the key to the success of both these interests. And I believe that when we achieve the success of sustainable energy and thriving global economies, we'll have taken a big step toward our foreign policy vision to help citizens of the world "better their own lives, build their own nations, and transform their own futures."