The Foreign Service Journal, February 2008

are promoting effective planning as part of broader development strategies. Initiatives like the Global Earth Observation System of Systems initiative, involving more than 70 countries, can play a key role in this effort. Last week, we announced $4.35 million for the Coral Triangle Initiative to help Indonesia adapt to some of the stresses that may come with climate change. Technology Technology is a third key element of a post-2012 arrangement. We want to collaborate on technology development and deployment strategies for key sectors such as advanced coal technologies and second-genera- tion biofuels and work to increase access to technologies, especially for developing countries. Financing Finally, a fourth element is financing. President Bush has proposed a new international clean technology fund to accelerate the uptake of clean energy technologies around the world, and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is reaching out to partners to further develop this con- cept. Also, we recently joined the European Union in submitting a ground-breaking proposal in the World Trade Organization for eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers for environmental goods and services. The Road Ahead The United States is committed not only to develop- ing a roadmap but seeing it through to its conclusion. We have brought one of our most senior delegations ever to Bali, including the chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, James Connaughton, who is President Bush’s personal representative to the Major Economies Process. As we go forward from Bali, we hope that the Major Economies initiative — announced in May 2007 and since endorsed by leaders of the Group of Eight and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation— can play a positive role by developing a detailed contribution to and advanc- ing the UNFCCC process. Mr. Chairman, we hope that the end of 2007 marks a new beginning: the launch of a new phase in climate diplomacy and negotiations that put us on the road to an environmentally effective and economically sustainable post-2012 arrangement on climate change. F O C U S 22 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 8 The Washington International Renewable Energy Conference In the spirit of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and global renewable energy conferences in Bonn (2004) and Beijing (2005), the State Department, on behalf of the U.S. government, will host the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008 (WIREC 2008), March 4-6, 2008, at the Washington Convention Center. WIREC 2008 will focus on four pillars necessary to advance the uptake of renewable energy into the broader energy equation: agriculture and rural development; finance; commercial- ization/market adoption of renewable energy; and tech- nology/research and development.