Minister Moon and Secretary Granholm met to launch the Ministerial ROK-U.S. Energy Policy Dialogue and chart a course for strengthened bilateral cooperation on clean energy and climate.
Office of International Affairs
November 15, 2021
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The ROK Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Sung Wook and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm met to launch the Ministerial ROK-U.S. Energy Policy Dialogue and chart a course for strengthened bilateral cooperation on clean energy and climate. Working together, both countries will enhance efforts to achieve their 2030 targets and 2050 goals, and rapidly expand their collaboration to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy solutions to meet the challenges of climate change.
This action by Minister Moon and Secretary Granholm follows through on the commitment made by President Moon Jae In and President Joe Biden during their May 21, 2021 summit to elevate to the Ministerial level and expand the existing U.S.-ROK Energy Policy Dialogue (EPD) to focus on enhancing clean energy deployment and areas of mutual interest.
In addition to launching the ministerial EPD, Minister Moon and Secretary Granholm discussed ways the U.S. and the ROK may cooperate to strengthen energy technology supply chains and expand collaboration on clean energy technologies. Minister Moon and Secretary Granholm reiterated the commitment of President Biden and President Moon to develop cooperation in overseas nuclear markets.
The new Ministerial level EPD will promote bilateral collaboration across three pillars – policies and planning; technologies and research; and commercialization and deployment – to support economy-wide decarbonization in the ROK and the United States. U.S. and Korean policy makers will share ideas, long-term strategies, experience, and decision-making resources to accelerate progress towards net-zero emissions and a sustainable clean energy future.
Regarding to the launch of EPD, Minister Moon commented, “The Ministerial ROK-U.S. Energy Policy Dialogue (EPD) will serve as an innovative cooperation platform for achieving the two countries’ 2050 carbon neutrality targets. The EDP also represents a first step that signifies the establishment of a true carbon neutrality partnership between the ROK and the U.S. Going forward, the two countries will make concerted efforts to continue their close policy collaboration, seamlessly implement joint R&D projects, promote the participation of outstanding private companies, host the Clean Energy Cooperation Forum and exchange human resources.”
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm commented: “We are excited to work with Korean partners to accelerate our clean energy efforts through technology innovation and public private partnerships. Working together, we will deploy key technical solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change and enable sustainable clean energy growth realizing the ambitious commitments outlined by President Biden and President Moon.”
The United States and the ROK will pursue opportunities for enhanced research and development collaboration and address supply chain vulnerabilities in critical clean energy and decarbonization technologies, including clean hydrogen, next generation batteries, lithium-ion battery recycling, grid-scale energy storage, carbon capture, utilization, and storage, off-shore wind, smart grid technologies, and hybrid energy systems. Working in concert with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy and the ROK Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy will engage private industry to spur innovation and technology deployment, promote joint demonstration projects, and expand clean energy jobs. Activities under the EPD will be initiated in early 2022.