The Office of Climate Change Policy and Technology (PI-50), located within the Office of Policy and International Affairs (PI), serves as the focal point within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the development, coordination, and implementation of DOE-related aspects of climate change technical programs, policies, and initiatives. The mission of the Office of Climate Change Policy and Technology is to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced technologies and best practices to mitigate climate change.
To the extent delegated by the Secretary, the Office provides planning, analysis, and technical advisory services to other Federal agencies, and to Cabinet and sub-Cabinet-level interagency committees, working on climate change-related policy, science, technology, and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation programs. The Office provides strategic direction for, and reviews and makes recommendations on, a portfolio of Federal research and development (R&D) investments of $5.2 billion per year for activities under the U.S. Climate Change Technology Program (CCTP).
The Office of Climate Change Policy and Technology also examines barriers to technology commercialization and deployment (C&D) and makes recommendations for improvement. The 2009 Report on Strategies for the Commercialization & Deployment of GHG Intensity-Reducing Technologies & Practices by the CCTP highlights strategies to promote the commercialization and deployment of technologies to reduce, avoid, or sequester greenhouse gases.
In addition, to the extent delegated, the Office provides support to, or serves as, DOE or U.S. Government (USG) representatives to proceedings on climate change policy and technology matters in interagency, intergovernmental, and international fora, most notably the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF), initiated by President Obama in March 2009, which brings together 17 developed and developing economies to engage in a meaningful dialogue on clean energy technology and the need to secure a broad international agreement to combat climate change.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided just over $25 billion in additional funding for research and development across a broad portfolio of GHG mitigation options, including: high-performance buildings; efficient manufacturing; advanced vehicles; clean biofuels; wind, solar, geothermal, and nuclear power; carbon capture and sequestration; advanced energy storage; a more intelligent electric grid; and techniques for reducing emissions and/or increasing uptake of carbon dioxide in agriculture and forestry. The ARRA also provided over $400 million for establishing the Advanced Research and Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) within DOE to overcome the long-term and high-risk technological barriers to the development of clean energy technologies.
The Office carries out policy and technology-related analyses and activities that address global climate change concerns and solutions. These include: (a) near-term policies and activities to reduce GHG emissions; (b) longer-term activities to expand and improve GHG-reducing technology options, reduce their cost, and encourage and facilitate their market adoption; (c) cooperative international engagement in defining and pursuing related policies, initiatives, and programs; and (d) liaison and representation activities vis-à-vis other agencies, States, non-Federal entities, and other governments.
In conjunction with the Department’s senior leadership and the Chief Financial Officer, the Office leads portfolio reviews, assessments of various research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) investment options, and coordinates planning for near- and long-term portfolios. The Office conducts and presents underlying analyses, modeling of scenarios, and makes recommendations for integrated priorities across the Departmental elements in its annual budgeting processes.