National and International Perspectives on Energy and Climate Policy: A Roundtable Discussion

This forum built on recent international developments and precedes the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change meeting in Washington, DC on September 27-28. Describing climate change as the defining issue of our era, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has organized an informal high-level meeting in to be held in New York on September 24. The meeting was intended to build momentum leading up to the formal United Nations climate change talks in Bali this December. In Bali, governments will continue negotiations on the international response to climate change following the expiration of the Kyoto accords in 2012.

For the Major Economies Meeting, President Bush has invited 15 leaders of the world's largest greenhouse gas-emitting nations to attend a summit to “seek agreement on the process by which the major economies would, by the end of 2008, agree upon a post-2012 framework that could include a long-term global goal, nationally defined mid-term goals and strategies, and sector-based approaches for improving energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

On September 25, 2007, the House Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Caucus, Renewable Energy and International Law (REIL), Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a roundtable discussion led by national and international policymakers, business representatives, and key stakeholders on issues of global climate change and clean energy policy.

Questions that were addressed by the panel included: What are the most desirable policy approaches/what are the most politically viable and expedient? What are the specific interactions between the national and international policy processes? What is the role of business in this process? What can the US learn from the experience of others? What do US legislators want to hear from business and the international community on the subject and what do international business and policy makers want the US Congress to know as they debate and work through climate and energy legislation? What is the state of play in Europe, in the US Congress?

• Renewable Energy and International Law Project- REIL is an international network of policymakers, investors, finance, business, thought leaders, lawyers, and technical experts, addressing the policy, financial and technical issues arising in the mainstreaming of clean energy and the development of the clean energy market. REIL is in association with the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, Yale's Center for Environmental Law & Policy, the Center for Business & the Environment at Yale, the Yale Project on Climate Change, Baker & McKenzie's Global Clean Energy and Climate Change Practice, and Climate Change Capital.
• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership- REEEP is an active, global public-private partnership that structures policy and regulatory initiatives for clean energy, and facilitates financing for energy projects. Backed by more than 200 national governments, businesses, development banks and NGOs, REEEP is uniquely placed to contribute to international, national and regional policy dialogues. Their aim is to accelerate the integration of renewables into the energy mix and to advocate energy efficiency as a path to improved energy security and reduced carbon emissions, ensuring socio-economic benefits.