Secretary Granholm Remarks as Delivered at the 2022 IEA Ministerial Welcome and Official Opening

Thank you, Ambassador Markell. And I might say, the President made an excellent choice in putting you in this very important role at this important time. So thank you for that generous introduction. 

I am honored to welcome you as chair to the 2022 IEA Ministerial.   

We gather here in Paris at a site rich with history.  

This building once housed the Organization for European Economic Co-operation—which was a key element of the Marshall Plan… and, in turn, an early pillar of the international order of which we are all now stewards.  

I think it’s a moment for us to ask at this point in our history: What is going to be our version of the Marshall Plan for clean and secure energy in 2022 and beyond? 

I know that we all feel deeply about taking our example of resolve from the Ukrainians.   

Ukrainian grandmothers and grandfathers, and granddaughters and grandsons will fight with broomsticks and knives to keep their country.  

And we know that we have got to show that we will have their backs… That we will defend democracy… and that we will not take for granted the peace won on this continent only a few generations ago.  

And of course, the IEA’s role in this centers on energy—starting with the world’s present needs. 

Putin’s war has roiled a fossil energy market that was already teetering over supply chain constraints because of COVID-19. The resulting price spikes have impacted people in all of our countries. I note that there was another disruption today, of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. It’s reported that 700,000 to a million barrels are again coming offline.    

What does this say to us about our role in creating a secure energy future? One that is free from being under the thumb of Putin or any countries that are adverse to our interests? 

In response, the United States has delivered a clear message to our domestic oil and gas companies. We want that industry to ramp up operations where and if they can right now. 

U.S. production levels are projected to reach record highs this year. We are exporting every molecule of natural gas that can be liquefied at a terminal that exists.  

We know we cannot fix supply disruptions on our own, however.  

And this is where the IEA’s analysis, thought leadership, ability to spur collective action are key.   

A few weeks ago, many of you know, this body agreed—only for the fourth time in IEA’s nearly five-decade history—to collectively release strategic oil reserves.   

We signaled that IEA members will act quickly to hedge against energy disruptions… and that we will not allow Putin to wedge our nations apart. 

I applaud all of you for that show of unity. And I ask you to stand ready to take further action if it’s necessary. 

Even as we seek to stabilize the fossil energy, though… the market… we have to act upon the urgent signals the world is sending us. That Mother Nature is sending us. A big, flashing code red on humanity, as the IPCC has said. 

As our colleague, Minister Ryan, who—many of you have heard me quote him before—recently eloquently stated at an IEA meeting: no country can hold the wind or the sun hostage. No country will be denied access to the wind or the sun. 

And as evidenced by Minister Taylor’s virtual attendance today, while he helps Australia respond to yet another devastating climate disaster, natural disaster… the climate will not wait on our efforts to confront autocrats. 

Both crises need addressing now. This is not an either-or. It is a both-and. It is not a binary choice. We must both increase reliable supply right now and accelerate our efforts for clean energy.  

The future of energy security… the future of economic security… the future of national security… the future of climate security… These are all inextricably bound together. And they are all demanding an accelerated clean energy transition 

So let’s start now. Let us make 2022 a Year of Implementation.   

Already, the IEA has put out a 10-point plan for immediately reducing European dependence on Russian oil and gas. That is very helpful. And… let’s take it further.  

Let’s vastly increase public and private investment in clean energy, with big, smart bets on demonstration and deployment.   

Let’s direct market forces to lift up communities that have been let down, and we can benefit all.   

And let’s work with oil and gas companies to help them diversify their energy portfolios—with a focus on technologies that will demand the very skills that fossil energy workers already have.  

And perhaps even more urgently, let’s ensure we do not trade one energy supply chain vulnerability for another.   

I’m talking about minerals and critical materials that are powering so many of our clean energy technologies.   

We have to source these materials responsibly. We have to process them sustainably. And we have to minimize the carbon footprint from manufacturing—all at enough scale to meet the demand.   

And the IEA has the expertise and the capabilities to make a real impact here.  

And that’s why, at this Ministerial, we’ll formally be repositioning the IEA as an Agency equipped to meet our 21st century climate and energy challenges and crises.  

Going forward, the IEA will leverage its incredible capacity for analysis, and leadership, and collective action to get to net zero.   

On our collective journey there, we’ll have more members joining us…which will strengthen this body. It will add to our army of climate warriors and broaden its involvement in the clean energy transition.   

And the United States is eager to work with each and every one of you. 

Let me be clear: we are under no illusions here. The path ahead is a challenge.  

Even with our impatience. Even with our determination… It’s going to take some time before we see a heat pump in every home, and electric vehicles populating our streets.  

We call it the clean energy transition for a reason.    

Fossil energy will continue to power the world in the near-term. So the IEA has to keep a sharp eye on that legacy work.  

But the decisions we make today… will shape the energy landscape of tomorrow.   

And they can give the IEA even greater pull as the center of gravity for international, collective clean energy action.  

So I want to give everyone participating at this Ministerial a couple of charges, if I might, humbly.   

One: Over the course of these proceedings, let’s each share the most effective steps that your country or your company has taken to advance your transition and what they’ve taught you.  

Some of you are doing amazing things. And we might not even know about it. And we can copy it. As I’ve said in an earlier session, we want to be able to poach best practices and effective solutions. 

So let us poach the best actionable ideas from any of you that we hear. 

And let’s be ready to demonstrate progress in September, when we gather at the joint ministerials for the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation in Pittsburgh.   

As Minister Ryan has said, this clean energy transition could be the peace project of our time.  

But peace always comes after struggle. So let’s give this peace project the focus, and the commitment, and the resources of a wartime effort. Our Marshall Plan. 

Today is March 23, 2022. Twenty years from today, on a beautiful spring Paris day at the IEA Ministerial in 2042… Some of us won’t be here, some of you might. But what will the story of our world be?  

So much history to write… and we hold the pen right now. 

I’d like to introduce one of the authors of that history: the IEA’s Executive Director, Dr. Fatih Birol.