Statement by the Press Secretary on the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Global Partnership

The President today welcomed substantial progress in the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate with the release of ten new Technology Action Plans.

President Obama launched the MEF in March 2009, creating a new dialogue among developed and emerging economies to combat climate change and promote clean energy.  At their July summit in L’Aquila, Italy, MEF Leaders launched a Global Partnership on clean energy technologies.

Through the Global Partnership, the United States and other MEF partners have been working to develop a suite of Technology Action Plans, which lay out options for ambitious government action on ten key clean energy technologies: advanced vehicles; bioenergy; building energy efficiency; carbon capture, use and storage; high-efficiency, low-emissions coal; industrial energy efficiency; marine energy; smart grid; solar energy; and wind energy.

The Technology Action Plans and an Executive Summary are publicly available at http://www.majoreconomiesforum.org.

To put these recommendations into immediate action, the President has asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu to intensify cooperation with his counterparts both in MEF countries and around the world.