U.S. Department of State Establishes New Bureau of Energy Resources

Posted by Seth Pfeifer / November 18, 2011

Seth Pfeifer is a public diplomacy officer in the Department's Bureau of Energy Resources, Office of Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy.

The Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) officially began operations on November 16, 2011. We lead the State Department in the whole-of-government effort to promote U.S. international energy engagement, influence how nations move to a cleaner energy future, and protect our energy infrastructure and transit routes.

The creation of ENR emphasizes the important role of energy in U.S. foreign policy. The United States has a long-standing interest in a secure supply of energy resources, as well as in sustaining and diversifying those resources.

We have three core goals:
• Increase access to energy for the world's poor, including the 1.3 billion people worldwide living without electricity, through commercially viable and environmentally sustainable means. This helps developing economies find their way out of poverty.
• 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.
• Stimulate the market forces that can transform 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.

Our Bureau will bring U.S. diplomatic and programmatic efforts in the energy sector together. This combination will enable us to accomplish our goals by building sustainable, transparent and predictable international markets for traditional hydrocarbons, civilian nuclear power, electricity, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

One example of this combination of diplomatic and programmatic resources can be seen in Nigeria, where we have been chairing an energy working group. The Department of Energy has joined us in this endeavor, and we've had exchanges with the Nigerian government on oil and gas issues and power market reform. We've recruited other U.S. government agencies and potential investors to provide financial and technical assistance to the Nigerians as they attempt to reform their power sector.

Through this working group, we've been able to call on a wide range of U.S. actors that I think will bring more effective results than any individual agency acting on its own.

Accomplishing the ENR Bureau's goals will ultimately advance U.S. national security interests, our environmental aspirations, and a strong national and global economy. We will also ensure that energy security is integrated into the nation's foreign policy objectives. Finally, we will provide expert advice and analysis to Secretary Clinton on energy security strategy, policy, operations and programs.

Our Bureau will be led by Ambassador Carlos Pascual, the Secretary's Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs. We will operate under the oversight of the Under Secretary for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs (E), Robert D. Hormats.

For more information about ENR, please visit our website at www.state.gov/e/enr.

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