International Programs
Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas
“…We can strengthen the foundation of our prosperity and our security and our environment through a new partnership on energy. Our hemisphere is blessed with bountiful resources, and we are all endangered by climate change. Now we must come together to find new ways to produce and use energy so that we can create jobs and protect our planet.
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, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17, 2009, Summit of the Americas
The Fifth Summit of the Americas (SOA) 
recognized energy and climate change among the most important issues confronting the Western Hemisphere. Approximately 50 percent of U.S. oil imports come from the Americas. Increasing green energy cooperation across the region is an important step to enhance clean energy growth and curb global greenhouse gas emissions. At the SOA, President Obama invited all countries of the Western Hemisphere to deepen cooperation on energy and climate change, by launching the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA).
In June 2009, as a follow up to the Summit, Peru hosted the Americas Energy and Climate Symposium. This event brought together policy makers and the private sector to discuss collaboration on the most critical energy issues facing our hemisphere, as well as next steps for the Partnership. The goals of the Partnership are to:
• Facilitate the exchange of resources as nations of the Americas transition to a clean energy economy;
• Harness existing cooperation and new activities to a Hemispheric vision; and
• Reflect each participant’s unique contributions, capabilities, and interests.
The Symposium was designed to further the important dialogue that began at the SOA, and to gain a diversity of perspectives on the energy and climate panorama for the Western Hemisphere. A variety of representatives from government (e.g., Foreign Ministries, Energy Ministries, and others) and civil society participated from sixteen countries.
Speakers and panelists discussed each country's achievements and challenges, and opportunities for collaboration. Participants began to identify concrete next steps for energy and climate cooperation in the Western Hemisphere.
Specifically, participants discussed partnership opportunities on the following themes:
• Energy Efficiency,
• Renewable Energy,
• Cleaner Fossil Fuels,
• Infrastructure, and
• Energy Poverty.
The Summits of the Americas bring together the 34 democratically-elected national leaders of the Western Hemisphere to develop a shared vision for the future development of the region, including economic, social and political concerns. The theme of the Fifth Summit of the Americas was Securing Our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability.
Additional Resources and Information:
- Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas - Fact Sheet (U.S. Department of State)
- Low Carbon Communities of the Americas U.S. Department of Energy program to assist Latin American countries with sustainable energy market transformation initiatives.
- Summit of the Americas - Fact Sheet (White House Office of the Press Secretary)
- Fifth Summit of the Americas (Official Website)
- Summits of the Americas - Information Network
Back to:Latin America and the Caribbean
Contacts
For additional information on EPA's work with Latin America and the Caribbean, contact:
Cam Hill-Macon
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of International and Tribal Affairs (2670R)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
E-mail: hill-macon.cam@epa.gov
(202) 564-6408