16 April 2010: Energy Ministers of the Americas met in Washington, DC, US, on 15-16 April 2010, under the auspices of the US Department of Energy, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS) to work on a framework for an “Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas” (ECPA).

At the meeting, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno announced the Bank’s intention to increase its financing for renewable energy and climate-related projects to $3 billion a year by 2012. The expanded lending will allow the IDB to focus on four broad areas: stepping up renewable energy investments in its poorest member countries; fostering energy integration throughout Latin America and the Caribbean; promoting energy efficiency measures across the region; and helping governments establish climate change mitigation and adaptation frameworks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton underscored the US’ commitment to help governments achieve low carbon economic growth and highlighted new initiatives that the Department of State is sponsoring under ECPA to expand energy and climate cooperation in the Americas. The Secretary also announced the expansion of ECPA climate cooperation to include future initiatives that address sustainable landscapes (forestry and land use) and adaptation.

The meeting, called by US Energy Secretary Steven Chu and gathering 32 Western Hemisphere countries, aimed to deepen regional participation and commitment to ECPA and to advance the goals for the EPCA initiative, which were laid out at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in April 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago. ECPA is comprised of voluntary initiatives focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy, cleaner fossil fuels, infrastructure and energy poverty. [Meeting Website] [IDB Press Release] [US Press Release]