DOE Brings Partners Together for First-Ever Net Zero World Ministerial

SEATTLE, Washington — On August 15, 2023, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm hosted the first Net Zero World Ministerial since the initiative launched at COP26. Participants took stock of the progress they have made toward their climate and clean energy goals and discussed next steps and new areas of collaboration.

At the first-ever Net Zero World Ministerial, Secretary Granholm said: “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it. That symphony, if you will, is our fight against the climate crisis—our shared fight. And we are the orchestra. We all show up with different strengths and priorities—and instruments—that can help us achieve clean, sustainable economies, and create millions of good-paying jobs. Luckily, we all have access to world-class instructors, who can help us refine our techniques, boost our proficiency, and become masters of the art of decarbonization. That is what Net Zero World is all about.”

The event began with a closed-door plenary, which included delegations from Net Zero World countries Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, and Ukraine. U.S. government agency partners and directors from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory were also in attendance.

For the second part of the ministerial, attendees were joined by co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Founder of Breakthrough Energy, Bill Gates, to discuss advanced storage, grid-enhancing technologies, and the broader role of clean energy innovation in putting net zero within reach.  

Net Zero World, launched at COP26 in Glasgow, is the Department’s flagship international initiative that includes 10 National Laboratories and nine U.S. government agencies. The program provides world class technical, financing, and policy assistance to help countries chart a pathway to advance clean energy use in buildings, industry, electric power, and transportation to achieve transformative emissions reductions. As part of the program, partners have access to:  

• Immediate and sustained access to expert technical, deployment, and investment analysis and facilitation from the U.S. government, including the U.S. DOE’s national laboratories; 
• Targeted support for in-country technical institutions to build long-term, self-sustaining technical capacity; and 
• Deep collaboration to develop technical and investment plans and support implementation for technology project design and testing, infrastructure modernization, enabling policies and measures, investment analysis and facilitation, capacity building and workforce development, and other critical actions needed to achieve near- and long-term energy system decarbonization. 

For more information on Net Zero World, visit Net Zero World Initiative.