USA and Germany launch Climate & Energy Partnership

The USA and Germany aim to intensify their cooperation in the field of energy and climate through the partnership. For that, bilateral working groups on offshore wind, hydrogen, and zero-emission transport, among others, were set up and initial activities were launched with adelphi's support.

With the signing of a joint declaration officially establishing the Climate and Energy Partnership on May 27, 2022, the governments of the United States and Germany once again reaffirmed their commitment to intensify cooperation in this area. The cooperation, which already started in 2021, has now been given an official framework on the occasion of a personal meeting in Berlin as part of the G7 climate, energy and environment ministers' meeting. The German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, German Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, and U.S. Energy Deputy Secretary David M. Turk signed the joint declaration.

The implementation of the partnership in the key areas of climate protection, energy transition, and cooperation with third countries will be carried out by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and the German Federal Foreign Office, along with the participation of other agencies. The overall aim of the partnership is to accelerate the efforts to reach climate neutrality in the United States, in Germany, as well as at the global level.

For the operative cooperation, bilateral Working Groups have been established in the areas of offshore wind, hydrogen, zero-emission vehicles, and cooperation with third countries, which met for the first time in spring 2022. Initial joint activities were launched, including an expert trip on offshore wind for U.S. participants to Germany in June 2022, a joint workshop on hydrogen regulation and certification, and a strategy paper on the offshore wind sector. A virtual expert trip on hydrogen for U.S. participants to Germany was already held in April 2022. The partnership's high-level steering committee also met for the second time at the end of March.

The implementation of the Climate and Energy Partnership is supported by a "German Support Office", run by adelphi (contact: stenzeladelphi [dot] de (Bastian Stenzel)) together with the German American Chambers of Commerce (GACCs).

Further information on the Climate and Energy Partnership can also be found here.