United States – In announcing the Net Zero World Initiative, the United States launched a new cooperation amongst countries aiming to implement their climate ambition promises and accelerate net zero, resilient and inclusive energy systems.

U.S. government and DOE’s national laboratories will collaborate to establish and implement specific, actionable technology roadmaps and investment plans that will put net zero within reach for countries that are committed to raising their climate ambition. US government will also work with a growing list of philanthropic think tanks and businesses like Lynne and Marc Benioff and Bloomberg Philanthropies to help a wide range of countries implement climate ambition pledges and attract billions of dollars in private capital for global clean energy transformation.

More nations are expected to join the partnership in the near future. Currently, Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Ukraine are the founding countries.

This project shows America’s proactive position in engaging with other countries to lead the global transition to net zero emissions by 2050, and to work constructively with partners in an effort to duplicate successful strategies and encourage a race for the top across countries.

It is the centerpiece of the Build Back Better World partnership announced by the G7 countries to help meet infrastructure needs in low- and middle-income countries. Net Zero World presents a progressive path for nations to advance clean energy use in buildings, industry, electric power and transportation sectors by deploying regulatory best practices and standards as well as financing solutions.

Through this initiative, DOE will mobilize state-of-art technology and world-class expertise from its national laboratories to help partnering countries:

  • Develop and support ambitious technical, market and investment roadmaps for clean energy transformation — The Initiative will work with partners to develop country-specific roadmaps detailing the cross-cutting planning and deployment strategies needed at national, regional, and local levels.
  • Deliver holistic support for immediate and sustained transformative projects that maximize overall impact for the region – The Initiative will support, for example, the development of cross-sector project pipelines and infrastructure modernization plans for partnering with the private sector, developing robust research, development, demonstration, and deployment partnerships to quickly advance technologies from lab to implementation. The Initiative will also provide implementation support for workforce development programs, with particular emphasis on gender equity and the inclusion of under-represented groups.
  • Foster exchanges between U.S. leaders and across countries to support peer-to-peer learning and confidence building – The Initiative will support exchanges between U.S. states and cities, business leaders, and across countries to inform roadmaps, key design and implementation measures to enable peer-to-peer learning, tailored replication of successes, and confidence building.

Specific benchmarks for partnering countries include:

  • By 2022: Prepare or strengthen net zero energy technical, market, and investment plans and execute on near term opportunities.
  • By 2023: Implement key policies and programs for countries to achieve net zero transitions.
  • By 2024: Mobilize at least $10 billion in clean energy infrastructure and project investment.
  • By 2025: Create new clean energy jobs, of which at least 50% are held by women and 40% benefit disadvantaged communities. 

Additional U.S. agencies participating in Net Zero World include the U.S. Department of State which will provide energy and climate diplomacy expertise and funding, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), set to provide integration with development assistance, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency which will fund climate-related project preparation and partnership-building activities, and the Development Finance Corporation, which will provide investment and business partnership assistance.