Obama team pledges new money for clean energy

WASHINGTON — Government officials from the United States and other nations are meeting this week as part of a search for ways to deliver energy that is cleaner and less expensive, and can help them meet the anti-pollution goals of the Paris Agreement.

In kicking off meetings in San Francisco, the Obama administration announced commitments by the United States and 20 international partners to double funding for clean energy research and development, from $15 billion to $30 billion annually by the year 2021.

"The transition to a clean energy future," said Dan Utech, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change.

With the expansion of clean energy sources, from wind and solar power to renewables, the United States and other nations are looking to meet the carbon emission reductions envisioned under the Paris Agreement reached late last year.

This week's Clean Energy Ministerial in San Francisco, the first since the Paris Agreement, brings together 23 countries and the European Union. Delegates represent 90% of clean energy investment and 75% of global carbon emissions.

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The goals of these meetings include "accelerating the deployment of today’s clean energy technologies" and "investing in innovation for the technologies of the future," the Obama administration said in a statement.