Asia & the Indo-Pacific

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm meets with Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Granholm's Co-Chair of the U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm meets with Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Granholm's Co-Chair of the U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership.

Who We Are

The Office of Asian Affairs manages the Department’s engagement with countries in the Indo-Pacific region in support of both climate and security imperatives and the Administration’s increased focus on the Indo-Pacific Region. The Office’s work supports everything from research collaboration on key technologies to technical assistance under the Department’s Net Zero World Initiative to multilateral efforts to advance the region’s energy transition.  

Initiatives

U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership

The Department and the Government of India's combined energy ministries launched a revitalized Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) in September 2021, building upon decades of U.S.-India energy cooperation. Through technical collaboration, dialogue, and private sector engagement, the SCEP supports India’s ambitious clean energy goals. 

U.S.-Korea Energy Policy Dialogue

Established in 2011 and elevated to the ministerial level in 2021, the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) Energy Policy Dialogue (EPD) promotes bilateral collaboration across three pillars – policies and planning, technologies and research, and commercialization and deployment  

U.S.-Japan Clean Energy and Energy Security Initiative

The Department and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry established CEESI to serve as the primary ministerial-level initiative to promote collaboration between the United States and Japan on clean energy technologies and common energy security issues. Technical task forces include Industrial Decarbonization, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage, Energy Conservation, Renewable Energy, Hydrogen/Ammonia, Nuclear Energy, Batteries and Zero Emission Vehicles, and Technology Marketization. 

U.S.-Indonesia Net-Zero World Initiative

Indonesia is an inaugural country of the Department’s New Zero World (NZW) Initiative, and in 2023, the Department and the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources finalized a work program to plan Indonesia’s path to net zero emissions by 2060. These activities compliment the multilateral Just Energy Transition Partnership recently agreed to with Indonesia, which offers substantial financial and technical support for clean energy transition in Indonesia.  

Australia Energy Security Dialogue

The Department and the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources hold an annual Energy Security Dialogue (ESD) with Australia. The Net-Zero Technology Acceleration Partnership, signed by Secretaries Jennifer M. Granholm and Chris Bowen in 2022, reports through the Energy Security Dialogue.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Energy Engagement

The Department participated in the first annual U.S.-ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting (EMM) in 2021 to catalyze energy engagement with this rapidly growing region.  

Singapore Net-Zero World Partnership

Following on the Southeast Asia Clean Energy Forum co-hosted by Secretary Granholm in 2022, the Department and Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry recently launched a co-sponsored Net-Zero World regional initiative focused on clean energy integration in Southeast Asia. 

The Philippines

The Department, the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources, and the Philippines Department of Energy are co-launching an inaugural Energy Policy Dialogue in 2023 to serve as a sustained platform for collaboration and solutions to accelerate the clean energy transition. 

Department of Energy officials and the Thailand delegation pose for a photo in front of a computer screen in a conference room.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie Cerqueira and Director of the Net Zero World Initiative Maria DiGiulian meet with the Thailand delegation for a discussion on Net Zero World in April 2023.

Thailand Net-Zero World Partnership

Following COP27, the Department and Thailand’s Ministry of Energy launched a Net-Zero World work program focused on energy storage systems, energy efficiency, and frontier energy technologies, such as hydrogen and Carbon capture utilization and storage.  

Vietnam

The Department builds energy cooperation with Vietnam through participation in the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources-led Energy Security Dialogue.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Energy Working Group

A Department representative serves as the Lead Shepherd of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Energy Working Group, which supports regional energy programming. Secretary Granholm will host the first APEC Energy Ministers meeting since 2015 in August 2023 in Seattle as part of the United States’ APEC host year. 

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

The Department leads negotiations on the Clean Economy Pillar of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the Administration’s flagship economic initiative in the region. This pillar focuses on catalyzing economic opportunities presented by the energy transition.    

Department of Energy and Australian energy and climate officials sit around a table in a conference room.
U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Andrew Light and other Department officials meets with Australian energy and climate officials during the Australia Energy Security Dialogue in April 2023.

Recent Highlights

  • Advanced research on new smart grids and energy storage technologies through US-India Collaborative on Smart Distribution System with Storage (UI-ASSIST), a consortium of 30 U.S. and Indian partners, for increased penetration of renewables into the grid, while providing affordable and reliable energy.
  • Advanced industrial efficiency through technical exchanges on U.S. and Indian energy management system (EnMS) tools and programs and training on implementation of the ISO50001 standard.
  • Collaborated between the Department’s Solar Decathlon™ (SD) and Solar Decathlon India (SDI) to prepare the next generation of building professionals to design, build, and advocate for high-performance, zero-energy buildings.
  • Secretary Granholm and Australia's Minister Bowen signed the Australia – United States Net-Zero Technology Acceleration Partnership at the Sydney Energy Forum in May 2023. This is a formal partnership to accelerate the development and deployment of zero-emissions technology, and cooperate on critical minerals supply chains to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while supercharging economic growth. 
  • The Department in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) hosted a delegation from Australia in Washington in April 2023 for the fifth bilateral Energy Security Dialogue.  Deputy Secretary Simon Duggan from Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water led Australia’s delegation, which included representatives from the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Embassy of Australia in Washington.
  • In April 2023 in Washington, DC, Secretary Granholm and the Republic of Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-Yang held a meeting under the EPD to advance collaboration on clean energy technology innovation.