On May 10, 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Xie Zhenhua delivered keynote remarks at a U.S.-China EcoPartnerships signing ceremony at the Department of State. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones and the Secretary’s Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs Reta Jo Lewis also participated in the ceremony.

The United States and China signed the Framework for EcoPartnerships Under the U.S.-China Ten Year Framework for Cooperation on Energy and Environment in Beijing in December 2008. The EcoPartnership Framework is aimed at developing new models of mutually beneficial voluntary arrangements between a range of state, local, and private sector organizations, to promote energy security, economic growth, and environmental sustainability in both countries. Six EcoPartnerships were established in 2008 with projects aimed at protecting the environment, developing new clean energy technologies, and sharing innovative techniques to make both nations more energy efficient.

At the second U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing in May 2010, the United States and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Implementation of the Framework for EcoPartnerships. This Implementation Plan establishes key policies and procedures of the EcoPartnerships program, including the management framework, selection standards and procedures for new EcoPartnerships.

The six new EcoPartnerships signed at the May 10^th ceremony were:

• Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH) with the China National Off-shore Oil Corp – New Energy Investment Co, Ltd. (Beijing, China);
• Duke Energy (Charlotte, NC) and the city of Charlotte, NC, with ENN Solar Energy Group (Langfang, China) and the city of City of Langfang (China);
• The State of Utah with Qinghai Province (China);
• Center for Climate Strategies (Washington, DC) with Global Environmental Institute (Beijing, China);
• United States Business Council for Sustainable Development (Austin, TX) with China Business Council for Sustainable Development (Beijing, China);
• Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN), the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, TN) with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (Beijing, China), Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (Beijing, China), and Institute of Applied Ecology (Shenyang, China).

Case Western Reserve University and the China National Off-shore Oil Corp New Energy Investment Co, Ltd. will work together to study, test and implement energy and environmental solutions.

The City of Charlotte and Duke Energy will form an EcoPartnership with the City of Langfang, Hebei Province, and ENN/Xin’ao Group to exchange policy best practices (e.g., renewable portfolio standards), carry out joint demonstration projects (e.g., residential building efficiency demonstrations), and conduct trials for innovative clean energy technologies (e.g., exploring more effective ways to deploy smart meters).

The Utah-Qinghai partnership between Utah and Qinghai academic institutions and several companies including the Utah Clean Tech Alliance includes post-doctoral scholar exchanges, construction of a pilot agricultural waste digester and research facility, cultural and political exchanges, and a book exchange. The partnership will also create a joint research lab focused on bio-gas generation in Qinghai, a research project in Utah to convert biogas to diesel fuel and plan for a Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) demonstration project in Qinghai.

The partnership between the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) and Beijing’s Global Environmental Institute (GEI) focuses on adapting CCS’s comprehensive climate action planning process to Chinese provinces. CCS will help GEI implement the most cost-effective carbon-reduction policies in order to meet economic and emissions reduction goals under the 12th Five Year Plan.

The partnership between the United States Business Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD) and the China Business Council for Sustainable Development (CBCSD) will work together to develop projects on water, energy, climate and ecosystem services.

The Purdue University/University of Tennessee/Oak Ridge National Laboratory partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences will continue a 5-year successful collaboration in the China-U.S. Joint Research Center for Ecosystem and Environmental Change. Representing a collection of research centers, this partnership promotes research collaboration among all partnering institutions, faculty and student exchanges, student education, and technology training and transfer in areas of environmental significance including climate change, the environmental aspects of bioenergy production, and sustainability.

For more information on EcoPartnerships, visit: http://www.ecopartnerships.gov/

For information on how to become an EcoPartner, visit: http://www.ecopartnerships.gov/partner/