Renewable Energy within the Context of the Transatlantic Energy Dialogue
DENA German American Energy Conference
Berlin, March 30, 2009
Chargé d’Affaires John M. Koenig
Minister zu Guttenberg,
Dr. Schnappauf,
Herr Boering,
Mr. Eckhart,
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the short time that President Barack Obama has been in office, he has already sent an unequivocal message about the importance his administration attaches to global climate change and the corollary issue of clean energy. The press in Germany has widely quoted President Obama’s energy proposals and many of them are quite familiar. We will be looking at some of these proposals in more detail in the course of the next couple of days.
Despite the economic downturn, the President is committed to following through on energy proposals that will reduce America’s dependence on oil and cut greenhouse gas emissions. As President Obama has said frequently, America’s addiction to oil cripples our economy, while undermining our national security and wreaking havoc on the environment. He believes that to truly transform our economy, we need to make clean, renewable energy profitable.
Key elements of President Obama’s energy agenda were built into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The goal of the legislation is not only to jumpstart the American economy but also to lay the groundwork for a clean energy economy. The cheapest, cleanest, fastest energy source is energy efficiency. The potential there is huge, as is the potential to increase the use of wind, solar, and nuclear technologies. The stimulus package includes funds for loan guarantees and tax credits and financial assistance that could leverage tens of billions in private sector investment in clean energy and job creation. That is in addition to massive government investments in transformational research. The Department of Energy is working on bringing a range of clean energy technologies to the point where the private sector can implement them.
These public and private sector investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources will create new jobs for Americans. Similar investments by other countries to reduce their own dependence on imported oil and develop renewable energy sources will benefit those economies. Working together, however, countries can develop and deploy transformational energy technologies around the world with enormous potential for local economies and far-reaching global benefits in terms of reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. and Germany already cooperate extensively on energy research. Our partnership is a model for collaboration and cooperation.
It is clear that transitioning to a low-carbon economy will not be easy or cost-free. There will be a need for major up-front investments but this task of new innovation and investment is so vast – literally the transformation of the base of the global energy economy – that it can become a key driver of economic growth in the 21st century. President Obama has made the transformation to a low-carbon economy a core part of his domestic agenda – and he is eager to negotiate a strong new international agreement done in Copenhagen at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December. Advanced negotiations for the Copenhagen meeting got underway this past weekend in Bonn. Special Envoy Todd Stern, the Obama Administration’s principal adviser on international climate policy, led the U.S. team. And to quote Mr. Stern, the United States is back in the game after sitting too long on the sidelines. From the President on down, we recognize the importance and urgency of the task at hand and look forward to working together to solve global energy and climate change problems.
Thank you.
