U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton welcomed five new U.S.-China EcoPartnerships during a signing ceremony in Beijing, China on May 3, 2012. U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern and China’s National Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua co-chaired the event. Science Advisor to President Obama Dr. John Holdren, U.S. Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs Reta Jo Lewis, U.S. Special Representative for Global Partnerships Kris Balderston, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Dr. Catherine Woteki also participated. Two of the five new EcoPartnerships were initially admitted in February 2012 on the occasion of the visit of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to the United States. With the admission of this cohort, 18 EcoPartnerships have now been selected since the program began in 2008.

The United States and China signed the Framework for EcoPartnerships Under the U.S.-China Ten-Year Framework for Cooperation on Energy and Environment (EcoPartnerships Framework) in Beijing in December 2008. The EcoPartnerships Framework is aimed at developing new models of mutually beneficial voluntary arrangements between a range of state, local, and private sector organizations to spur innovation, investment, and engagement on clean energy and environmental issues, including climate change. MORE