Thanks, Mr. Sirovica for the type introduction.
I’m grateful to Minister Filipović and the Authorities of Croatia for internet hosting us at this time. I additionally need to thank Secretary Granholm and her workforce on the Division of Vitality in addition to the Atlantic Council for organizing this necessary occasion.
I’ll start on a somber notice of reflection. Virtually 27 years in the past, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 others perished in a airplane crash whereas flying from Zagreb to Dubrovnik on an official commerce mission.
The victims included 11 Commerce staff and two Croatians serving as assist workers. In our shared grief, Croatia and the US grew even nearer. Months after the crash, the brand new Commerce Secretary returned right here to complete the mission. It’s a stirring instance of our dedication to one another even within the face of tragedy.
All the folks on that flight had been engaged on behalf of peace, prosperity, and making our world a greater place. Their instance and their sacrifice proceed to encourage us, and it provides me a particular objective being right here representing the Commerce Division in our enduring mission to make sure financial alternatives for all.
I’m honored and humbled to as soon as once more take part within the PTECC Enterprise Discussion board.
Since we final met in Poland for the 2021 Discussion board, the significance of accelerating Europe’s clear power transition has change into extra pressing for 2 causes.
First, internationally, the local weather disaster continues to result in increased temperatures, rising sea ranges, and weather-related shocks. We’ve witnessed extreme drought exacerbated by warmth waves, amongst different climate crises, each right here in Europe and in America.
Local weather change is an existential risk that sees no borders, and time is decidedly not on our facet.
Second, you recognize all too effectively the acute power disaster that Russia unleashed with its battle of aggression in Ukraine. Europe’s efforts to interrupt its dependence on Russian oil has been unprecedented. However it solely underscores the significance of shifting the continent’s power combine by quickly rising clear power sources.
I ought to add that Russia’s assaults on civilian targets in Ukraine included deliberate efforts to destroy its power infrastructure. This too is one thing the US and Europe might want to work collectively to rebuild.
At the same time as the US and EU collaborate to assist the clear power economic system on the continent, we should perceive the huge market, funding, industrialization, and job alternatives it provides on each side of the Atlantic. Working collectively on enabling commerce inside and throughout borders, we are able to unlock the area’s plentiful clear power assets and huge carbon sequestration potential whereas selling zero- and low-emissions items and providers.
So the place is the Division of Commerce in our efforts to gas this transition?
A 12 months in the past, we established the U.S.-EU Activity Power on Vitality Safety to diversify provide and scale back power demand. It set formidable targets for U.S. LNG provide in each the brief and long run, and final 12 months practically 70% of complete U.S. LNG exports reached European markets, totaling roughly 75.5 billion cubic meters.
We lately launched the U.S. Clear Tech Export Competitiveness Technique, which is resulting in extra worldwide engagement on clear tech requirements and mental property safety, in addition to growing focused commerce missions and commerce occasions.
The USA believes public-private partnerships are crucial to fight the worldwide local weather disaster. We are going to rely closely on the innovation and dynamism of our non-public sector to develop and deploy cutting-edge applied sciences to decarbonize each side of our economic system.
We’d like a surge within the growth and implementation of unpolluted power applied sciences, together with hydrogen, wind, photo voltaic, geothermal, nuclear and carbon seize, utilization, and storage. None of those applied sciences, both individually or collectively, have reached the dimensions wanted to stabilize international temperatures and keep away from the worsening threats of local weather change.
This presents America and Europe alike with an enormous market alternative. Nations that make it a strategic precedence to foster these industries of the long run is not going to solely assist scale back emissions each inside and out of doors their borders—they may even assist financial progress.
One instance of the place we’re working collectively to deploy clear power is Poland’s announcement that it’ll purchase expertise for its first three nuclear energy vegetation from a U.S.-based firm, Westinghouse. This deal cements the kind of long-term partnership that I imagine will assist Poland obtain power safety whereas creating 1000’s of unpolluted power jobs on each side of the Atlantic.
The U.S. Division of Commerce designed and launched the Small Modular Reactor Public-Personal Program, or SMR PPP, in 2020 for precisely this motive. We’re collaborating with our European companions to take away boundaries to the deployment of this expertise.
This program has change into a key U.S. platform for sustained public-private collaboration on SMR expertise between the US and Europe. You noticed an instance of this with Romania’s acknowledged intent to construct a first-of-a-kind U.S. SMR . By deploying U.S. revolutionary clear expertise first, Romania is taking an preliminary step—however an enormous technological leap—in advancing local weather motion and clear power entry all through a crucial a part of Europe and the world.
The USA is dedicated to working with PTECC member nations to enhance the business enabling surroundings for attracting revolutionary power and local weather firms, bettering financing choices, and selling partnerships.
However everyone knows governments can’t remedy Europe’s power challenges alone. We’d like robust partnerships with all of you to get the job accomplished.
We’re desirous to proceed our work collectively and learn the way our private and non-private sector companions can contribute to the options Europe so urgently wants.
I imagine we’ll meet this second in order that we are able to all prosper and thrive in a clear, Twenty first-century international economic system.
Thanks.
