Energy ministers and other high-level delegates from more than 20 nations and the European Commission will meet June 1-2 in San Francisco for the first Mission Innovation Ministerial since the project was launched at the Paris climate change negotiations in December. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will host the event, which will feature energy and science ministers from China, France, and India, among other participants, according to a Department of Energy press release.
During the meeting, ministers “will bring together global business, nongovernmental organizations, and energy leaders to discuss the key role that private sector collaboration with governments can play in implementing the Paris Agreement,” according to the release.
Mission Innovation is a public-private partnership consisting of the governments of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States working in coordination with a private sector group led by Bill Gates. For their part, the governments involved have agreed to double their clean energy research and development funding.
The private sector arm of the initiative has been titled the “Breakthrough Energy Coalition.” Notable participants include Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Richard Branson of Virgin Group, Tom Steyer of NextGen Climate, Meg Whitman of Hewlett-Packard, and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan of Facebook and the Primary School, respectively. The Breakthrough Energy Coalition has committed to increasing investment in clean energy startups and breakthrough technologies.