2009 Press Release

U.S. Delegation Departure Statement

June 10, 2009

From June 7-10, a U.S. Government delegation led by Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern, the President’s Science Advisor John Holdren, Assistant Secretary of Energy David Sandalow, and including representatives from the Treasury Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, travelled to Beijing for a series of high-level meetings to discuss climate and clean energy issues. 

As reflected by the composition of the U.S. delegation, the Obama Administration believes that the clean energy and climate challenges are inextricably linked.  The delegation was extremely pleased for the opportunity to have candid and constructive discussions with such a wide array of high level officials on the Chinese side, including Vice Premier Li Keqiang, State Councilor Liu Yandong, NDRC Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua, Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, Director of the National Energy Administration Zhang Guobao, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs He Yafei, as well as with other high level representatives from the government, academic, and business communities.

In our meetings, we deepened our dialogue with our Chinese counterparts through a candid discussion of the challenges we must overcome and the opportunities we must seize if we and the world are to reach an international climate agreement. In addition, we explored opportunities to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy and efficiency, including building efficiency, R&D, renewables, and carbon capture and sequestration.   

These meetings were a step in the right direction on the road to Copenhagen and to charting a global path to a clean energy future. 

We are eager to continue our dialogue and to use every occasion to make progress.

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