ORNL representative attends international climate conference
An ORNL researcher joined international heads of state at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory was represented by Xin Sun, associate lab director for energy science and technology, at the kickoff event in Glasgow, Scotland, known as Conference of the Parties 26 or COP26.
“We are rolling up our sleeves to take part in the Net Zero World Initiative,” she said in an ORNL news release. “ORNL is excited to collaborate with our international partners to share our scientific capabilities and technical strategies, both short term and long term, to achieve critical global decarbonization goals. The lab is already applying its immense scientific resources to the challenge both locally — we are pursuing ways to decarbonize our entire campus — and nationally in coordination with DOE (Department of Energy) priorities. Climate change is a global problem, however, so it makes sense to work with all willing countries to deploy technologies that can address a challenge of this immense scale.”
At COP26, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry launched the Net Zero World Initiative together with ministers from Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ukraine; leaders from Breakthrough Energy, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet; and Lynne and Marc Benioff.
Through Net Zero World, led by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Build Back Better World initiative, countries committed to raising their climate ambitions will work across U.S. government and DOE’s national laboratories to create and implement highly tailored, actionable technology roadmaps and investment strategies for key countries that will put global net zero within reach, the news release stated.
“The U.S. is committed to working with countries all over the globe to accelerate clean energy goals from ambition to action, and the Net Zero World Initiative is the latest example of our dedication,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in the news release. “With Net Zero World, our partnering nations will harness the power and expertise of the national laboratories, federal agencies, think tanks, businesses and universities to develop tangible clean energy projects that meet their energy needs.”
Net Zero World will leverage expertise from the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, federal agencies, partner countries, leaders in business and the philanthropic community, civil society and international institutions to usher in clean energy transformations at national and subnational levels to achieve sustainable economic growth and protect the planet.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: ORNL representative at international climate conference
