US Energy: Secretary Granholm Pursues Global Climate Action, Clean Energy Jobs at Ministerial with 24 Eastern and Central European Countries

From Wednesday, September 22nd to Friday, September 24th, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm traveled to Warsaw, Poland to convene a series of meetings with her counterparts in the region to discuss the urgency and opportunity of a net-zero energy transition and climate action. In both bilateral and multilateral convenings, the Secretary identified areas where the United States can work with its partners in the region to accelerate the pace of clean energy innovation and deployment and create clean energy jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

Secretary Granholm reinvigorated the Department of Energy’s flagship multilateral energy forum in Central and Eastern Europe to focus on climate action and clean energy job creation. Secretary Granholm and Poland Minister of Climate and Environment Michael Kurtyka co-chaired and re-launched the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) as the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC). The United States, 22 European countries, and the European Union participate in the P-TECC initiative. Read the P-TECC 2021 Ministerial Statement of Principles, endorsed by all 24 countries, HERE.

Highlights from Secretary Granholm’s travel to Warsaw, Poland:

This year’s convening included a P-TECC Business Forum led by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. The Business Forum brought government and private sector leaders, including dozens of major U.S. companies, together to strategize how to support the clean energy transition and job growth on both sides of the Atlantic. Watch the P-TECC Business Forum livestream on the Atlantic Council’s website here.
Watch Secretary Granholm’s closing remarks at the P-TECC Ministerial Meeting and press conference with Poland Minister Kurtyka here.
Secretary Granholm and her Polish counterparts, Minister of Climate and Environment Michal Kurtyka and Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland and Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski convened the U.S. Poland Strategic Energy Dialogue. They focused on deepening the United States’ and Poland’s collaboration on civil nuclear, carbon capture, clean energy job creation, and a people-centered and place-based energy transition.
Secretary Granholm also held a series of bilateral meetings with her European counterparts to discuss how the United States can partner with these countries on clean energy deployment, including Romania, Greece, Serbia, Kosovo, and the European Commission. She also held a joint “3+1” meeting with the Baltic countries: Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, focused on energy access and security, renewable energy, and integration into the European electric grid.
The Polish Academy of Sciences held a panel with Secretary Granholm and Acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kathryn Huff discuss the importance of diversity and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Watch the livestream here.
Secretary Granholm joined the U.S. Department of State’s European Regional Media Hub to discuss the mission of her trip and answer questions from journalists.