United States of America
Intervention on Behalf of the United States Government Delivered by: Alexander
Metcalf, International Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of International
and Tribal Affairs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you Mr. Chairman,
The United States strongly believes in the value that Partnerships provide to the
international community, particularly as effective tools for sustainable
development. Rather than taking a solitary approach through regulation,
partnerships can play a key role in achieving sustainable development goals
reaching partners through voluntary commitments. We work closely with a number
of partners in both the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, on a
number of issues including those related to the themes of this CSD cycle. To that
end, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some accomplishments that
have resulted from just two of our many international and domestic partnership
programs.
The United States is a founding member of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and
Vehicles (PCFV), which was launched in 2002 at the World Summit for
Sustainable Development. PCFV is truly a global partnership with over 110
partners, including governments, oil and automobile industry partners, UN
organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
Goals of the PCFV include:
The elimination of lead from gasoline
The reduction of sulfur in gasoline and diesel
And the deployment of clean vehicle technologies
One of the major achievements has been the elimination of lead in gasoline
throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, there are now just 10 countries in the
world with leaded gasoline, most with plans to phase it out. In addition, over the
past several years 82 countries have committed to reducing sulfur levels in
gasoline and diesel to 50 parts per million or below, which will allow for wide
scale deployment of advanced emission control technologies.
PCFV is one of 443 registered partnerships for sustainable development by the
CSD, however only 7 have more partners than PCFV. Due to its success, PCFV is
often showcased as a model for other public-private partnerships in the
environment, and a model for UNEP cooperation with partners and cross-sectoral
initiatives.
Another successful partnership is the Methane to Markets (M2M) program - an
international, public-private initiative, launched in 2004, that advances costeffective,
near-term methane recovery and use as a clean energy source. The goal
of the Partnership is to reduce global methane emissions in order to enhance
economic growth, strengthen energy security, improve industrial safety, and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2004, the M2M has grown from 14 to 33 Partner
governments. And the Project Network brings together the necessary actors to
implement methane reduction projects, including 950 private-sector and financial
organizations currently participating.
Looking back on 5 years of accomplishments, I would like to note the following:
The Partnership has supported the development of 170 projects in
countries around the world that will reduce methane emissions.
We have held more than 80 technology transfer and capacity-building
events in 23 countries
And we have organized two successful Project Expos - one in Beijing
in 2007 and most recently in New Delhi in March 2010. Both of these
were very well attended.
Benefits of methane reduction include improving energy supply by making
methane available for local energy use; better water quality because of improved
agricultural waste management; and the reduction of ground-level ozone through
reduced methane emissions.
Thank you very much for the time, Mr. Chairman.
Metcalf, International Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of International
and Tribal Affairs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you Mr. Chairman,
The United States strongly believes in the value that Partnerships provide to the
international community, particularly as effective tools for sustainable
development. Rather than taking a solitary approach through regulation,
partnerships can play a key role in achieving sustainable development goals
reaching partners through voluntary commitments. We work closely with a number
of partners in both the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, on a
number of issues including those related to the themes of this CSD cycle. To that
end, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some accomplishments that
have resulted from just two of our many international and domestic partnership
programs.
The United States is a founding member of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and
Vehicles (PCFV), which was launched in 2002 at the World Summit for
Sustainable Development. PCFV is truly a global partnership with over 110
partners, including governments, oil and automobile industry partners, UN
organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
Goals of the PCFV include:
The elimination of lead from gasoline
The reduction of sulfur in gasoline and diesel
And the deployment of clean vehicle technologies
One of the major achievements has been the elimination of lead in gasoline
throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, there are now just 10 countries in the
world with leaded gasoline, most with plans to phase it out. In addition, over the
past several years 82 countries have committed to reducing sulfur levels in
gasoline and diesel to 50 parts per million or below, which will allow for wide
scale deployment of advanced emission control technologies.
PCFV is one of 443 registered partnerships for sustainable development by the
CSD, however only 7 have more partners than PCFV. Due to its success, PCFV is
often showcased as a model for other public-private partnerships in the
environment, and a model for UNEP cooperation with partners and cross-sectoral
initiatives.
Another successful partnership is the Methane to Markets (M2M) program - an
international, public-private initiative, launched in 2004, that advances costeffective,
near-term methane recovery and use as a clean energy source. The goal
of the Partnership is to reduce global methane emissions in order to enhance
economic growth, strengthen energy security, improve industrial safety, and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2004, the M2M has grown from 14 to 33 Partner
governments. And the Project Network brings together the necessary actors to
implement methane reduction projects, including 950 private-sector and financial
organizations currently participating.
Looking back on 5 years of accomplishments, I would like to note the following:
The Partnership has supported the development of 170 projects in
countries around the world that will reduce methane emissions.
We have held more than 80 technology transfer and capacity-building
events in 23 countries
And we have organized two successful Project Expos - one in Beijing
in 2007 and most recently in New Delhi in March 2010. Both of these
were very well attended.
Benefits of methane reduction include improving energy supply by making
methane available for local energy use; better water quality because of improved
agricultural waste management; and the reduction of ground-level ozone through
reduced methane emissions.
Thank you very much for the time, Mr. Chairman.
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