Remarks by Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

Remarks by Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
U.S. Secretary of Treasury
Olympic Village LEED Gold Award
August 13, 2008, 12:30 pm
(As delivered)

Thank you, Vice Minister Shang and thank you to everyone in attendance today. Madame Chairwoman, Mayor of the Beijing Olympic Village. We also have with us Assistant Minister of Finance Zhu and of course Ambassador Randt. And we have with us the President of United Technologies Jim Gradoville.

In the midst of the Olympic competition and pageantry, I am here today to present an award of a different kind --- the LEED Gold award to recognize the Olympic Village for a design that demonstrates the results of determination and hard work, which is so abundantly expressed by the Olympic athletes from around the world.

The LEED award, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating system sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council representing the highest standard for environmentally sustainable construction. With this award, the Olympic Village is being recognized for its contributions to making this year’s Olympics "the greenest ever."

The Village, which is home to 17,000 Olympic athletes during these summer games, includes among many innovations --- among them is a "near-zero energy building" known as the Micro-Energy Olympic Village Welcome Center.

The Welcome Center generates the bulk of its power, heating and cooling from renewable energy sources like solar cells and geothermal heat bumps. Through this ground-breaking design, the net energy generation of the building almost equals its annual energy consumption.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Energy, we want to congratulate the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee and the Chinese development company Guo Ao for their leadership in energy and environmental design. We also recognize United Technologies Corporation, which performed the review of the Olympic Village for the LEED Certification.

One of my highest priorities is the U.S. and China working together to meet our shared goals. Cooperation serves both our nations particularly well in addressing the issues of energy security and environmental sustainability which is a priority for our governments and our people. Recognizing that these challenges are impossible for either government to meet alone, we are working together to develop a way forward.

I believe there is great promise for collaboration on sustainable buildings, energy efficient infrastructure projects and creating "Eco-cities", especially through EcoPartnerships that are being developed through the U.S.-China collaboration under the Ten Year Framework on Energy and Environment Cooperation. China adds 2 billion square meters of new construction every year, and has 40 billion square meters of existing buildings that need retrofitting. China’s leaders know that the development of green buildings is a critical need, and the Olympic Village can serve as a model for this development.

The public sector and the private sector are helping to create the "green" economy. I have said that much of this work is aspirational, but this year’s Olympic Village demonstrates how aspirations lead to action. The collaboration between China and the U.S. Department of Energy has made this possible.

My friends in China often ask what can be done about China’s immediate energy and environmental challenges. My answer is that China, given its current economic growth and prosperity, can be a leader in deploying and using advanced energy and environmental technology.

We must realize the vast scale and magnitude of our global environmental challenges. Governments can and must do more to work together to advance the adoption of clean technologies. We need major investment and research and development and strong incentives for the commercialization of new technologies.

The future will be shaped by leaders who recognize that economic growth and responsible environmental stewardship are not incompatible. All nations must take an active part. Just as America recognizes that our prosperity is linked to the strength of China’s economy, we also recognize that the long term environmental health of our planet depends on energy efficient and environmentally sound efforts in both of our nations, as we see evident through the Olympic Village.

Once the summer games have ended, the Olympic Village will become 1,700 luxury apartments and the Welcome Center will be converted into a kindergarten and child care center. This example of the benefits of community-wide sustainable development will continue far into the future.

Madame Chen, please accept this plaque which commemorates this award.

Thank you.

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