OT-2138
August 12, 2021
Remarks by AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk at Virtual GCTF Workshop on Green Energy:
A Way to a Clean and Sustainable Earth
August 11, 2021
Minister Wu, Representative Izumi, Representative Bloomfield, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, friends,
It is my great pleasure to kick off today’s workshop on “Green Energy: A Way to a Clean and Sustainable Earth,” held under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework program, or “GCTF.” Through the GCTF program, the United States, Taiwan, and Japan, have addressed global challenges by providing a platform for information-sharing and other collaborative efforts. Today, we welcome Australia as an event co-host.
Please allow me to extend our appreciation to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economic Affairs Bureau of Energy, and the Industrial Technology Research Institute for organizing this virtual workshop.
The United States will do its part to tackle the global climate crisis. President Biden has returned the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement. We are committed to reducing carbon emissions to 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. President Biden has also pledged to double the United States’ climate support for developing countries by 2024 and to triple adaptation finance. Most recently, at the G7 meeting in Cornwall, President Biden highlighted that transitioning the world to cleaner energy sources is both urgent and essential.
Today’s GCTF builds upon a history of energy cooperation between the United States and Taiwan and directly supports our current goals to partner with friends to combat global climate change through renewable energy and sustainable development. Our shared future begins by building networks for energy-related cooperation, which will further enable us to achieve global economic recovery and meet growing energy demands in a sustainable way.
I have been very impressed by the decades-long history of substantial energy cooperation between the United States and Taiwan. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy and our national laboratories maintain technical cooperation with counterpart agencies in Taiwan. The U.S. private sector has also provided solutions to meet Taiwan’s growing energy needs.
We are honored to have so many energy experts from across the world join us today. I know my colleagues from the Department of Energy and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are looking forward to sharing their valuable technical expertise about global energy trends during today’s workshop. I believe we all have a shared commitment to a healthier, cleaner, and sustainable future. Workshops like this are an opportunity for us to learn from each other.
I wish you all a productive workshop. Again, on behalf of the American Institute in Taiwan, thank you all for your contributions to green energy development.
