President Obama will attend the Copenhagen conference on December 9. A number of top White House officials and cabinet members will also attend, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu. For the first time, the U.S. delegation will establish a U.S. Center at the conference, which will feature keynote speeches by top U.S. officials from December 9-17, including a December 14 speech by Secretary Chu on U.S. leadership in energy efficiency and renewable energy. The U.S. Department of State has a "COP-15" Web site and a Facebook page. See the White House press release and the State Department's press release, COP-15 Web site, and COP-15 Facebook Page.
The day after the White House announced GHG targets, China announced it will reduce the intensity of its carbon dioxide emissions by 40-45% by 2020 (CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product). China expects its GDP to at least double by 2020, which could potentially result in a doubling of carbon emissions, but the new target should hold the increase to 20% or less. The carbon intensity target will be a binding goal that China will incorporate into its medium- and long-term development plans.
China also announced plans to invest in the research, development, and commercialization of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, as well as other low-carbon energy technologies. The country plans to draw on non-fossil-fuel energy sources for 15% of its energy needs by 2020 and will encourage low-carbon lifestyles and consumption. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen. See the announcement on the Chinese Government's official Web portal.
US & India to Cooperate on Clean Energy Technologies
President Obama and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed a comprehensive MOU on November 24 for their nations to work together to speed development and deployment of clean energy technology. Noting that energy security, food security, and climate change are interlinked, the leaders entered into a Green Partnership to meet these global challenges. Both leaders affirmed that the outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen must be comprehensive.
Under the MOU, the two nations will launch a Clean Energy and Climate Change Initiative, with the goal of improving technologies to make clean energy more affordable and efficient. The initiative will include cooperation in wind and solar energy, second-generation biofuels, and energy efficiency, as well as unconventional sources of natural gas and clean coal technologies, including carbon capture and storage.
The two nations will also mobilize public and private resources to invest in clean energy projects in India. Further, they began an Indo-U.S. Clean Energy Research and Deployment Initiative, supported by government and private-sector funds. The initiative will leverage expertise from both countries and covers such topics as energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, second-generation biofuels, battery technology, the Smart Grid, solar energy, wind energy, and micro-hydropower. It will also include a Joint Research Center operating in both countries to accelerate deployment of clean energy technologies.
The US and India also signed MOUs on solar and wind energy. Under the solar MOU, DOE's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) will partner with India's Solar Energy Centre to create a comprehensive nationwide map of the solar potential in India. Also, more than two dozen U.S. and Indian cities will team up to jointly boost solar development. The wind MOU, between NREL and India's Centre for Wind Energy Technology, will focus on developing a low-speed wind turbine. See the White House press release and the Green Partnership Fact Sheet (PDF 81 KB).
