Green Finance Promotes US-China Energy Cooperation

On June 6, 2017, Energy Cooperation Program (ECP) Outstanding Figures Sessions - Green Finance Salon was held in the American Chamber of Commerce in China, co-organized by the U.S.-China Green Fund and ECP, and hosted by Alan Beebe, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. The participants include representatives of Chinese and American government agencies (including the NDRC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Commercial Commissioner from U.S. Embassy), ECP member companies and media representatives. As a new strategic member of ECP, the U.S.-China Green Fund has officially become the co-chair of the ECP Green Finance Working Group. At the meeting, CEO of the U.S.-China Green Fund, ECP Board of Directors and Co-Chairman of the Green Finance Working Group, Mr. Bai Bo, introduced the investment philosophy in green development and the multilateral cooperation framework with ECP.

Mr. Bai Bo said that the joint efforts between U.S.-China Green Fund and ECP will promote the policy exchange and technical cooperation between U.S. and China in the field of green development, as well as large-scale commercialization of market development and innovation cooperation practice of green technology, making contributions to the green development of both countries.

Dr. Douglas Cameron, Senior Director of U.S.-China Green Fund, shared his extensive experience in green investment and green development. Dr. Douglas Cameron has rich experience of green investment and profound knowledge of green energy conservation technology. Prior to joining U.S.-China Green Fund, Dr. Cameron founded First Green Partners as a co-founder in 2011, focusing on green sustainable technology development. Prior to that, he worked for Khosla Ventures, a well-known green development technology venture capital firm as Managing Director and Chief Scientist, Managing Director for Piper Jaffray Clean Technology Group, Chief Scientist and Head of Biotechnology at Cargill, Inc., USA, and Professor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Cameron said in his speech that green investment is now our common direction of development. The United States has accumulated years of experience in green investment, especially in green energy, at the world leading level in terms of technology and products. As both U.S. and China are paying attention to green and sustainable development, both sides become aware of the importance of seeking common green development. Under such circumstances, the U.S.-China Green Fund was established. Dr. Cameron explained to the guests the four pillars of the success for green development - the government's policy support for green development, the effective gathering and use of money, the practice and solutions of U.S. and China technological integration, and the fund investment management team and the enterprise's management team execution ability.

At the end of the salon, Mr. James Lambright, Senior Managing Director of Sino-US Green Fund, delivered a wonderful speech. In his speech, Mr. Lambright said that the focus of China and the United States in the field of green development should not be confined to climate change, but focus on win-win cooperation. He said that the U.S.-China Green Fund is aimed at building an innovative financial platform for U.S. and China cooperation to promote cross-border financial and technical cooperation in the innovative financial platform to address China's environmental problems and increase exports and job opportunities for US green technology and resources, thus guiding the creation of a now type of major country relations featuring win-win cooperation." Mr. Lambright was the Chairman and President of the US Export-Import Bank. From 2008 to 2009 during the international financial crisis, he served as chief investment officer of the US Treasury's $ 700 billion bailout fund (TARP), leading the reorganization, negotiation, and execution of more than 600 companies, including AIG, Citigroup, and General Group.

Founded in September of 2009 by 24 U.S. energy companies, U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program (ECP) was underscored by U.S. President Barack Obama and China President Hu Jintao in the official joint statements during Obama’s visit to China in 2009. U.S. government agencies including Department of Commerce, Department of Energy and US Trade and Development Agency together with Chinese government agencies including National Energy Administration and Ministry of Commerce signed bilateral Memorandums of Understanding to serve as official government advisors to support ECP. U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program (ECP)’s mission is to create a bilateral business platform with U.S. and Chinese companies to pursue private sector-based business opportunities, advance sustainable development in the energy industry and combat climate change. Members join ECP through working groups to form industry value chains. Within each working group, members establish a sector development road map according to the national strategies, local demand and potential local partners for both short and long terms. Through this process, each working group identifies annual business development objectives and concrete initiatives for implementation.​

U.S.-China Green Fund, formerly known as U.S.-China Building Efficiency and Green Development Fund, is a private equity fund established to promote sustainable development in China. The fund was jointly initiated by the Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs of P.R. China and the Paulson Institute of the U.S.in September of 2015 during President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States. Through financial, technological, and business model innovation, the Fund aims to create a new cross-border public-private partnership (PPP) model, as well as foster U.S.-China "green collaboration" to create green employment opportunities while solving China's environmental problems. Building on past progress achieved by both the United States and China, the U.S.-China Green Fund is committed to promoting sustainable development and making positive contributions towards mitigating global climate change.