The U.S. will host the seventh Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7) in San Francisco next June, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and California Gov. Jerry Brown announced at an event at COP21 in Paris.
Taking place June 1-2, 2016, the annual meeting of energy ministers and other high-level delegates from the 23 CEM member countries and the European Commission will provide an opportunity for major economies to collaborate on solutions that advance clean energy globally and demonstrate tangible follow-up actions to COP21.
The CEM was launched in 2010 with a goal of accelerating the global transition to clean energy. The U.S. hosted the first ministerial meeting in Washington, D.C., with subsequent meetings hosted by the United Arab Emirates, the U.K., India, Korea and Mexico.
Along with Moniz, CEM7 is expected to include global energy leaders such as Wan Gang, China's minister of science and technology; Miguel Arias Cañete, European commissioner for climate and energy; and Piyush Goyal, India's minister of power, coal, and new and renewable energy.
Leaders from the business and investment community working in clean energy are also expected to participate, as well as those from international energy organizations, foundations, research institutes and academia.
The announcement that San Francisco will host CEM7 follows President Barack Obama's video message at CEM6 in Mexico last May that the U.S. would host CEM in 2016. San Francisco and the broader Bay Area, which encompasses Silicon Valley, is known as a global hub of the clean energy industry and is home to some of the most innovative technology companies playing a crucial role in advancing clean energy globally, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
California recently signed into law climate and clean energy legislation setting aggressive targets for the share of the state's electricity from renewable sources and for energy efficiency savings in buildings.
‘I can think of no better place than California to play host to the world's clean energy leaders,’ comments Gov. Brown.
