Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas
The Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) was announced by U.S. President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas in April 2009. The ECPA is conceived as a flexible mechanism to accelerate sustainable energy in the Americas. ECPA is built upon seven pillars, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy poverty, cleaner and more efficient use of fossil fuels, infrastructure, sustainable land use and forestry, and adaptation.
A number of collaborative initiatives form the core foundation of the ECPA. These include the following:
Envoys Program: aims at enabling the sharing of best practices and expertise in research, development, design and implementation of clean energy programs. Other activities include:
Lighting the Americas: Seeks to provide electricity to the 34 million people in Latin America who currently are without access.
U.S. Trade and Development Agency’s (USTDA) Clean Energy Exchange Program of the Americas: Brings nearly 50 Latin American and Caribbean energy officials and project sponsors to the United States on a series of reverse trade missions.
Low Carbon Communities of the Americas projects:
Caribbean Renewable Energy Strategy: Aims to enable countries to implement actions and strategies geared towards increasing the sustainability of their energy supplies while reducing carbon emissions from the energy sector through the development and use of renewable energy and energy efficiency systems.
Dominica Wind Project: Seeks to prove the viability of small, distributed wind generation as an alternative to traditional, megawatt-class utility-scale turbines.
Costa Rican Energy Efficiency Training Center: The center will train and certify professionals in energy efficient technology and auditing procedures, and also help expand the technical knowledge and capabilities of the Central American region on efficiency services and programs
Colombia Biomass Initiative: The objective is to develop a technological plan for use of agro-industrial residue biomass to produce energy.
Energy Innovation Center: Promotes and advances clean energy projects through mobilization of funding, knowledge dissemination and technical expertise.
Chile Renewable Energy Center: The long-term goal for the center is to serve as a tool and resource for the region.
Seven Pillars
Energy Efficiency: Promote best policy practices through assistance in developing building codes and other standards in the industrial and residential sectors, as well as training for energy audits.
Renewable Energy: Accelerate clean energy deployment via project support, policy dialogues, scientific collaboration, and the clean energy technology network.
Cleaner and More Efficient Use of Fossil Fuels: Promote clean energy technologies to reduce both conventional pollution and the carbon footprint of fossil fuels, as well as best practices on land use management.
Energy Infrastructure: Foster modernized, integrated, and more resilient energy infrastructure, particularly electrical grids and gas pipelines.
Energy Poverty: Target urban and rural energy poverty with strategies to promote sustainable urban development and improve access to modern clean energy services and appropriate technologies in rural areas that can improve public health and reduce fuel wood use that benefits forest management.
Sustainable Forests and Land Use: Reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and enhance carbon sequestration in the land use sector, including through the conservation and sustainable management of forests.
Adaptation: Assist vulnerable countries and communities with strategies to understand and reduce their vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change.
References
- Staff writer (16 April 2010). "US to help Caribbean end foreign oil dependency". Caribbean Net News. Associated Press.
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (16 April 2010). "Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) Ministerial". Inter-American Development Bank, Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of State.