Executive Director meets US Energy Secretary in Washington to prepare for February’s IEA Ministerial

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol met this week with US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other key leaders during a three-day visit to Washington to prepare for the Agency’s upcoming 2022 Ministerial Meeting and to discuss recent efforts to accelerate clean energy transitions.

Energy Secretary Granholm will chair the IEA Ministerial on 2-3 February 2022. At their meeting this week, the two discussed how to turn climate ambitions into concrete clean energy actions. Among the areas of focus at the IEA Ministerial will be the policy actions countries need to take to follow through on their net zero pledges. The Ministerial will also set the priorities for the IEA’s work in the coming years as it strengthens its leadership role on clean energy transitions.

Following his meeting with Secretary Granholm, Dr Birol met with other high-ranking officials at the US Department of Energy, including former IEA Deputy Executive Director David Turk who now serves as Deputy Energy Secretary.

In other meetings, Dr Birol met with Jose Fernandez, the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, and officials at the National Security Council, as well as leading figures from civil society and academia. He was hosted by a high-level panel at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a leading Washington-based think tank.

Dr Birol was also the lead speaker at a dinner debate at the Aspen Institute led by Jason Bordoff, co-founder of the Columbia Climate School. Among the 25 high-level guests were Senator Joe Manchin, several members of congress, and leaders from across the public and private sectors.

The visit follow’s Dr Birol weeklong trip to Washington in July, underscoring the US government’s renewed determination to show international leadership on clean energy and climate, the importance of these issues on the US policy agenda, and the IEA’s central role in providing a global platform for international collaboration.