Secretary Royón and Deputy Secretary Turk met earlier today to discuss the present state of energy cooperation between the United States of America and the Republic of Argentina, and opportunities to expand the long history of work together into additional areas of mutual interest. 

They reinforced their bilateral commitment to continue to work together to accelerate clean energy transitions, especially in the power sector, as a key pillar in enhancing the energy security of both countries and addressing climate change consistent with the global goals of the Paris Agreement.

The United States and the Republic of Argentina’s energy transitions are based on mutual goals of increasing access to clean, secure, and affordable sources of energy that can create millions of good-paying jobs and enhance economic prosperity in both countries.

Deputy Secretary Turk and Secretary Royón discussed how the two countries can best leverage their technical expertise to build clean energy infrastructure and supply chains among trusted partners, in particular to further scale up zero-carbon technologies involving hydrogen and lithium.   In this regard, both officials highlighted the strategic importance of developing the lithium value chain in Argentina, so that the region, and the world can advance their energy transitions.  To this end, both officials explored ways for the Republic of Argentina and the United States to partner on sustainable and responsible critical minerals supply chains.

The Republic of Argentina reiterated the role of natural gas in its just energy transition.  Both parties agreed on the growing importance in the planning and strategic orientation of energy development and the integration of renewable energy systems, including the stabilization, increased flexibility and expansion of electricity transmission systems.

Building upon this dialogue, Deputy Secretary Turk and Secretary Royon discussed deepening collaboration through the Net Zero World (NZW) Initiative, of which the Republic of Argentina is one of the founding partners.  Launched at COP 26 in Glasgow, NZW will unlock U.S. Government technical resources to partner with the Republic of Argentina in achieving its goal of building a net zero, resilient, and inclusive energy system.  The partnership will focus initially on sector-wide pathways analysis to identify opportunities for energy modernization that draw in investment and create job opportunities for the people of the Republic of Argentina, as well as feasibility studies and options for lowering consumer energy bills through energy efficiency measures. 

Deputy Secretary Turk and Secretary Royón announced that technical teams from the United States and Argentina would meet in Buenos Aires and La Pampa in early April to continue this work.  Further, Secretary Royón and Deputy Secretary Turk agreed to work together for a successful G20 energy ministerial outcome in July in Goa, and to work in support of India’s G20 presidency.

Deputy Secretary Turk and Secretary Royón recognized the importance of decarbonizing the natural gas sector, reducing methane leakage and flaring, increasing efforts to develop and deploy emission reduction technologies for gas systems and, in that sense, collaborate with industry as we seek to diversify global supplies away from malign actors.  Both reaffirmed their commitment towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050 under the conditions of their respective NDCs.

The meeting brought meaningful discussions on how the United States and the Republic of Argentina could deepen clean energy collaboration to incentivize and scale clean energy development in both countries and across the Americas.