U.S. Department of State

"We must come together to find new ways to produce and use energy…So today, I'm proposing the creation of a new Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas that can forge progress to a more secure and sustainable future."

-President Barack Obama

ECPA - A Voluntary, Flexible Partnership
U.S. President Barack Obama invited all countries of the region to join ECPA at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in April 2009. Joining ECPA is voluntary, allowing governments, Inter-American organizations, private industry, and civil society to lead or participate in initiatives focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy, cleaner fossil fuels, infrastructure, energy poverty, sustainable forests and land use, and adaptation. ECPA is intended to help foster welcoming government policy environments that encourage low carbon development, as well as act as a tool to identify areas where assistance is needed. Any government in the hemisphere can lead an initiative, as well as offer its own financial support to implement activities or seek financing from public and private institutions and multilateral development banks. Progress and information is shared on the OAS ECPA information clearinghouse at www.ecpamericas.org.

ECPA Initiatives

• A DOE/IDB Innovation Center based in Washington, D.C. to act as the regional financing tool for hemispheric efforts;
• Low Carbon Communities programs in Dominica, Colombia, and the Caribbean supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE);
• Brazil’s Building with Energy Efficiency and Sustainability initiative to promote sustainable urban development and planning, involving the American Planning Association (APA) and the Department of State;
• Colombia’s Regional Electrical Interconnection initiative focusing on transmission lines from Panama to Chile;
• Canada’s Heavy Oil Working Group involving Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the United States and Venezuela;
• A Regional Clean Energy Technology Network, supported by DOE, with centers in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago;
• A Clean Energy Exchange Program of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency bringing nearly 50 Latin American and Caribbean energy officials on six reverse trade missions;
• The U.S. Peace Corps’ Renewable Energy and Climate Change initiative in 8 Latin America and Caribbean countries;
• Senior ECPA Fellows that build capacity on clean energy, sustainable landscapes, and adaptation;
• Advancing Energy and Environmental Security in Central America, with support from the Department of State;
• Advancing Sustainable Biomass Energy to expand production and use of renewable biomass and reduce greenhouse gas emissions with support from Departments of State and Agriculture;
• Advancing Cooperation in the Caribbean to build capacity on renewable energy and energy efficiency and support a regional dialogue on sustainable energy solutions, led by the OAS with support from the Department of State; and
• Promoting Shale Gas in the Americas utilizing the expertise of the U.S. Geological Survey and Department of State.