PITTSBURGH, PA (November 4, 2021) Today, the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm announced that Pittsburgh will serve as the host city for the 2022 Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the ministerial for Mission Innovation (MI) next September.
Secretary Granholm made the announcement today at the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP26) with Chile Energy Minister Carlos Jobet, Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and virtual remarks from Mayor William Peduto.
Pittsburgh was selected by the federal government to host the United States’ CEM and MI because of its commitment to innovation and reinventing its industrial past through sustainability, technology, research and development and the City’s prioritization of renewable energies and the ambitious goals being rapidly achieved in the Climate Action Plan.
"The City of Pittsburgh is proud and pleased to be chosen to host the 2022 CEM MI to bring leaders from around the world to share ideas about turning our industrial regions into regions of opportunity for sustainable energy,” said Mayor William Peduto. “Pittsburgh is the city that built America, rooted proudly in our tradition of hard work and innovation. Through our partnership with regional leaders in the Marshall Plan for Middle America, we recognize that our economies in Upper Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley cannot depend on fossil fuels, but we already have the infrastructure in the companies, workforce and research and development to lead the future of sustainable energy rather than getting left behind. I thank Secretary Granholm for providing us this opportunity and we look forward to hosting CEM MI in Pittsburgh."
Mayor Peduto’s Marshall Plan for Middle America, announced last year, focuses on the region’s potential to become the leader in producing clean, sustainable energy. While Upper Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley have historically depended on heavy industry and fossil fuels, the region has the resources to create the energy industry of the future through innovations and investments in the workforce, companies and infrastructure. Mayor Peduto is joined by several mayors in support of the MP4MA to create an equitable and just economy for their families and future generations.
“The U.S. is proud to host the 2022 Clean Energy Ministerial and ministerial for Mission Innovation in the Steel City of Pittsburgh, PA, a town that exemplifies how a legacy energy and industrial-dependent economy can be transformed into a technology and innovation powerhouse,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The joint CEM/MI ministerial meetings represent an opportunity to lock in climate commitments through big bets on innovation that empower an energy transition by 2050—averting the worst effects of climate change and supercharging economic opportunities for the global workforce.”
The United States hosting the 2022 CEM and MI reinforces its leadership and commitment to international collaboration. CEM and MI bring together 31 countries together with the goal of rapidly accelerating clean energy innovation and deployment to achieve net zero by 2050, to avoid the worst effects of climate change and provide new economic opportunities for workers at home and abroad.
