As delivered by Nathan Jones
Political Officer, US Mission to the OSCE
Kyiv, Ukraine
April 17, 2013
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Coordinator, and distinguished colleagues,
The United States again would like to thank the Ukrainian Chairmanship and the Office of the Coordinator for Economic and Environmental Activities for hosting us all here in Kyiv for this Second Preparatory Meeting of the Economic and Environmental Forum. We appreciate all the presentations that have been given these past two days, and the many constructive interventions by participating States, Civil Society Organizations, and others. As mentioned by Assistant Secretary Camunez during the Opening Session yesterday, we believe this year’s Second Dimension theme presents us with a number of opportunities to discuss and develop pragmatic approaches to better management of our energy resources, increased development of new and renewable sources of energy, and an improvement in how our energy production and use impacts critical components of our environment. The 2003 Maastricht Strategy Document and other Ministerial Declarations and Decisions have given us the foundation we need for the OSCE’s work in the area of the environment and energy security. Now it is up to us all to establish concrete actions that we can take to see progress in these areas.
Panelists have described a number of innovative and exciting approaches to solving some of the many challenges that confront us in these areas. These have included everything from reducing the heavy energy use of residential buildings, increasing the use of solar and wind power in Central Asia, developing new approaches to incentivize more efficient use of fossil fuels in cars and power plants, to finding new and more ways to involve civil society in decisions about energy and environmental policy at a national and also local level. We look forward to the leadership of the Ukrainian Chairmanship as we move this conversation forward, and anticipate further conversations among participating States on where the OSCE can be most effective and most relevant in addressing the challenges that threaten and undermine the collective security of the OSCE area.
Thank you again, Mr. Chairman.
