U.S. Department of State

On October 14, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that the Department of State is establishing, for the first time, a Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR). As the Secretary noted, “You can’t talk about our economy or foreign policy without talking about energy. With a growing global population and a finite supply of fossil fuels, the need to diversify our supply is urgent.”

The Energy Resources Bureau is now operational and will ensure that all our diplomatic relationships advance our interest in having access to secure, reliable, and ever-cleaner sources of energy. The Bureau of Energy Resources has three principal goals:

• To manage the geopolitics of today’s energy economy through vigorous diplomacy with producers and consumers. This is critical to promote adequate and affordable supplies of energy and to keep energy markets stable.
• To stimulate market forces for transformational policies in alternative energy, electricity, development and reconstruction. This creates market demand for green technologies and products where the U.S. has a competitive advantage.
• To increase access to energy in developing countries, expand good governance, and deepen transparency. This helps developing economies find commercially and environmentally sustainable paths out of poverty.

The creation of the new Bureau emphasizes the important role played by energy in U.S. foreign policy, and energy’s complexity and importance. The U.S. has a long-standing interest in the secure supply of energy resources, as well as in the sustainability and diversification of those resources. The new Bureau will work across U.S. Government agencies to engage traditional exporters and emerging economies alike in a coordinated effort to boost international energy security, steer the world’s energy mix toward a more sustainable path, and emphasize the U.S.’s continuing commitment to transparency and good governance, in order to ensure that each nation’s natural wealth translates into increased prosperity for its citizens.

The Department will make use of existing assets in order to form the Bureau of Energy Resources. Ambassador Carlos Pascual, the Secretary’s Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, is in charge of the Bureau. Ambassador Richard Morningstar will remain the Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy and will work closely with the Bureau of Energy Resources.  The Bureau will operate under the oversight of Under Secretary Robert D. Hormats (E).

For more information, please contact Greg Adams (202) 436-0364, AdamsGM@state.gov.