IV 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1526 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 15, 2010 Mr. Engel submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing support for the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas and its goal to encourage collaboration and cooperation among countries to address the energy and climate change challenges facing the Western Hemisphere.

Whereas President Obama invited Western Hemisphere countries to join in an Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) during the Fifth Summit of the Americas held on April 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago; Whereas the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas is voluntary, allowing governments, Inter-American organizations, private industry, and civil society to lead or participate in initiatives that reflect their priorities; Whereas more than 30 energy ministers and delegations from across the Western Hemisphere met on April 15, 2010, through April 16, 2010, in Washington, DC, to deepen cooperation on energy security and on alternative energy resources; Whereas ECPA initiatives focus on areas of cooperation such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy poverty, infrastructure, cleaner fossil fuels, as well as sustainable landscapes and adaptation; Whereas the Western Hemisphere supplies one-fourth of the world’s crude oil, one-third of the world’s natural gas, nearly one-fourth of its coal, over a third of global electricity, and almost three-quarters of worldwide bio-fuel production; Whereas ECPA is a partnership of Western Hemisphere nations focused on creating energy independence and promoting sustainable, clean energy practices and technologies, and not a fossil fuel subsidy program to increase energy dependency; Whereas Chile, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, El Salvador, and Trinidad and Tobago will create Clean Energy Technology Centers to serve as clearinghouses of information and as sources of expertise on various renewable energy technologies and practices; Whereas Brazil will lead an initiative to promote sustainable urban development and energy efficiency among low-income residents; Whereas Colombia will lead an initiative to strengthen electrical interconnections in the Andean Region, Chile, and Panama; Whereas Canada will lead a working group to discuss methods to reduce the carbon and environmental footprint of heavy oil; Whereas Mexico will lead an initiative to promote and increase energy efficiency; Whereas the United States Department of Energy will assist governments in Costa Rica, Dominica, Peru, Colombia, and the Caribbean in developing transformative energy programs through the Low Carbon Communities of the Americas Program; Whereas the United States Department of State will also support Central American countries in their effort to integrate the regional power market as well as activities that promote greater efficiency and the region’s clean energy development; and Whereas the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of State will work with interested countries to collaborate on scientific exchanges to advance renewable and sustainable biomass energy: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)strongly supports the goals of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas; (2)encourages the efforts of the United States Government to expand collaboration and cooperation among countries in the Western Hemisphere on the issues of energy security, low carbon economic growth, and reducing energy poverty; and (3)promotes the active participation by countries, businesses, and civil societies in the Western Hemisphere in this voluntary partnership.