At the inauguration of the CEM12/MI-6 summit: Chile issues a call to redouble efforts to halt climate change

An urgent call to redouble efforts to halt climate change is the first outcome from the world’s most important clean energy summit, Clean Energy Ministerial 12 / Mission Innovation 6 (CEM12/MI-6). The event, which was inaugurated today in a virtual ceremony led by Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, will focus on reaching agreements and making decisions that would allow for swift action in the area of energy transformation. 

Over the course of one week, Chile and the world’s leading economies will seek to raise awareness and promote specific initiatives designed to make progress on clean energy innovation throughout the world. The objective is to establish guidelines ahead of COP26 and to ultimately halt climate change. 

“Global warming and climate change are the greatest threats that our generation faces. We are the last generation that is in a position to do something about it and we must take action now. Science has spoken strongly and clearly. It is time that we listen and take bold, decisive action. In Chile, we are increasing our use of renewable energies and implementing a national strategy that will place us at the cutting edge of green hydrogen production and exportation. We are also decarbonizing our energy matrix. By 2040, we will use only clean energies and we will reach carbon neutrality by 2050. This is complemented by an active policy of protecting the environment, oceans and forests, with a view to promoting sustainable development,” stated President Sebastián Piñera.

Although COVID-19 has forced organizers to hold the meeting virtually, the host country has prepared a schedule that highlights how Chile’s virtues as a regional pioneer in the area of energy transformation and as a country full of geographic and cultural wealth, which can be explored by all of the summit’s participants. 

“It is an honor and a privilege for Chile to host the world’s most important meeting on clean energy and innovation. We are aware that climate change continues to be our greatest long-term challenge and that we must work together to fight it, as countries, companies, workers, experts and communities. We have not ‘won’ the race against climate change and the worst error that we could make would be to let our guard down and lose it. In order to win, over the course of this week we must turn ambition into commitments, commitments into action and action into results. Only then can we ensure a better planet for future generations,” declared Chile’s Energy and Mining Minister Juan Carlos Jobet. 

The minister also stated that the pandemic has highlighted the importance of innovation, which has allowed for the record development and deployment of multiple COVID-19 vaccines. “This shows how crucial innovation and technology are for addressing some of the most urgent threats that we face. They must also be at the center of economic recovery,” he emphasized. 

“This is the most important meeting on clean energy innovation since Mission Innovation was launched by global leaders at COP21. We have had a great deal of success over the past five years. Now, as governments and companies from around the world set carbon neutrality targets, the need for international innovation and collaboration has never been more urgent or important. At the Innovating to Net Zero Summit on June 2, we will launch an ambitious second phase of Mission Innovation alongside President Piñera, Secretary General Guterres and Bill Gates, and we will secure new commitments from the ministers of the world’s leading economies. I would like to congratulate Chile for its leadership and for uniting the world for this important milestone heading towards COP26,” said Patrick Child, President of the Mission Innovation Board of Directors. 

“I am delighted that Chile is hosting the 12th Clean Energy Ministerial Meeting, in what will be a critical year for accelerating ambition and action in the area of clean energy,” said Dan Dorner, Head of the Clean Energy Ministerial Secretariat team. “At CEM12, we are bringing together a community that is very excited and energized to participate in a week full of ideas, inspiration and impact on clean energy. The Clean Energy Ministerial global community is organizing a packed schedule of events and the launch of several new global action coalitions and new innovative reports. CEM12 will be the largest Clean Energy Ministerial ever, which is entirely appropriate given that our ministries will be coming together to launch a more ambitious phase of CEM. We are bringing ministers, executive directors and other global energy leaders together on Chile’s marvelous virtual stage, to focus on how the Clean Energy Ministerial and its community can turn a year of ambition into a decade of deliverables,” Mr. Dorner added. 

The CEM12/MI-6 Fora

The high-level Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM12) and Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-6) have the goals of encouraging collaboration between countries and the incorporation of technology and innovation, as well as promoting specific agreements and actions designed to accelerate the shift towards clean energies and developing tools to meet targets in the fight against climate change. 

The summit, organized by Chile, will focus on social, economic and climate-related challenges, such as decarbonization, electromobility, green hydrogen and the innovations required to achieve carbon neutrality. 

The meeting will be held May 31 through June 6, using a digital platform designed especially for the occasion, which will allow people from around the world to access talks, panel discussions and a range of on-demand content from their mobile devices or computers. 

There will be a wide variety of options, including ministerial plenary sessions, thematic events, talks by renowned speakers and a virtual fair with 36 stands organized by companies and institutions at the cutting edge of energy transformation. For the first time, the public will be able to witness the conversations that take place during a ministerial summit, as the sessions are open to all registered participants. 

The leaders and experts who will participate in CEM12/MI-6 will include government representatives, as well as Ursula Von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry, entrepreneur and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, World Energy Council President Angela Wilkinson, the respective COP 25 and 26 Champions for Climate Change Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping, co-president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Breakthrough Energy founder Bill Gates, environmental explorer Bertrand Piccard, World Economic Forum President Børge Brende, and the Undersecretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme Inger Andersen.

Those interested in accessing the talks and other CEM12/MI-6 content can register for the event free of charge at cem12mi6chile.com.