The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) plays a key role in a number of multinational energy relationships.

• International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC)
• International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
• International Energy Agency (IEA) Working Groups and Implementing Agreements
• International Partnership for Geothermal Technology (IPGT)
• International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE)

IPEEC is an autonomous, independent partnership of 16 member economies, with a Secretariat hosted at the International Energy Agency (IEA). IPEEC provides a unique forum for dialogue - and action - to promote energy efficiency improvements in economies that represent 75% of global energy use and 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. IPEEC operates under a distributed leadership model, whereby each member voluntarily leads, participates, and contributes to individual initiatives, or Task Groups. EERE participate in several Task Groups to bring home lessons learned from international experience and to promote global deployment of U.S. energy efficiency technologies.

IRENA was established in January 2009 and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. IRENA aspires to become the driving force for promoting a rapid transition towards the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale. The U.S. is among more than 150 country signatories to IRENA. IRENA is currently building a network of international renewable energy experts, mapping global renewable energy potential, building a comprehensive database of renewable energy policies, and advising its members regarding successful policies and financial schemes to promote renewable energy, as well as initiating capacity building and training programs.  EERE provides analytical support to IRENA in the development and implementation of the IRENA workplan.

The IEA Implementing Agreements are mechanisms for pooling international resources to facilitate joint energy research, development, and deployment of clean energy technologies. EERE programs participate in numerous Implementing Agreements.

The United States, Australia, and Iceland signed the IPGT Charter Agreement in August 2008 to accelerate the development of advanced geothermal technologies, including enhanced geothermal systems, or EGS, through international cooperation. The IPGT and its members facilitate and conduct research and development of cost-effective geothermal technologies, accelerate the availability of these technologies and work to identify and address wider issues relating to geothermal energy.  EERE's Geothermal Technologies Program serves on the IPGT steering committee. Currently there are international working groups in six technical areas to advance geothermal technologies: lower cost drilling, stimulation procedures, zonal isolation and packers, reservoir modeling, exploration technologies, high-temperature tools.

The IPHE is an international partnership established to foster international research and technology development cooperation to accelerate the introduction of fuel cells and hydrogen technologies into our global energy system. It provides a forum for the discussion and alignment of international policies, codes and standards, and safety measures that can accelerate the transition to hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. EERE's Office of Fuel Cell Technologies Program is the U.S. lead and is actively involved in several activities in the IPHE.

See the Asia-Pacific page for more information on this regional initiative.

See the Americas page for more information on this regional initiative.