Export-Import Bank of the United States Chair Reta Jo Lewis Affirms Commitment to Supporting Renewable and Low-Carbon U.S. Exports at COP28
Dubai, U.A.E – Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis wrapped up an eventful week in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) as part of the U.S. delegation to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). While in Dubai, Chair Lewis signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Export Import Bank of Korea and delivered a series of remarks highlighting the agency’s record support of over $1 billion for climate finance in Fiscal Year 2023, supporting 4,700 American jobs. Chair Lewis also held a series of meetings with government officials and private sector leaders to discuss the role EXIM financing can play in driving the global energy transition.
“It was a privilege to attend COP28 to participate in critical discussions on how the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. can help drive the global energy transition,” said Chair Lewis. “EXIM financing can be a powerful tool in turning low-carbon and renewable energy projects into reality. We remain firmly committed to advancing Biden-Harris Administration priorities and meeting our mandate to support projects that push us toward a more sustainable future.”
On Monday, Chair Lewis joined Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, for three bilateral meetings with Romanian Minister of Energy Sebastian Ioan Burduja, Kazakhstan Minister of Energy Satakaliyev Almassadam, and Ukraine Deputy Minister of Energy Svetlana Grynchuk. She then delivered keynote remarks during an event hosted by Edison Electric Institute (EEI), where she spoke about how EXIM financing can scale up U.S. clean technology exports.
On Tuesday, Chair Lewis announced the EXIM Board of Directors’ recent approval of a resolution to support applications for the export of U.S. small modular reactor (SMR) systems and a new SMR financing toolkit during an event with Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, David Livingston, Senior Advisor and Managing Director for Energy in the Office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Energy for Ghana, Frederic Beauregard Tellier, Director General for Nuclear Energy at Natural Resources Canada, Senior Advisor and Managing Director for Energy in the Office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and Melanie Nakagawa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft.
Chair Lewis also participated in a panel discussion at the COP28 Energy Transition Hub hosted by Amos Hochstein, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Adviser for Energy and Investment, focused on efforts to catalyze finance for key climate infrastructure objectives. During the panel, Chair Lewis was joined by SunAfrica CEO Adam Cortese, where they both discussed EXIM’s historic $900M solar energy project in Angola, which was authorized earlier this year and highlighted in a White House Fact Sheet. Chair Lewis also spoke during a panel discussion on the pathways for advancing decarbonization and energy transitions and met with representatives from Vision Invest Group.
On Wednesday, Chair Lewis delivered closing remarks at a U.S. Center event focused on global partnerships to advance climate solutions, alongside Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Largo, and U.S. Trade and Development Agency Director Enoh Ebong. Chair Lewis then attended the President’s Export Council roundtable alongside U.S. government representatives and private sector leaders for a discussion focused on the role the Council can play in supporting efforts to combat climate change. Chair Lewis also delivered remarks at a U.S. business roundtable discussion hosted by C2ES and Barclays, joined a high-level event focused on scaling up international partnerships for Africa by engaging with diaspora communities, and participated in a fireside chat on decarbonization.
On Thursday, Chair Lewis and Hee-Sung Yoon, Chairman and President of the Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between EXIM and KEXIM to facilitate financing collaboration on renewable energy and zero-carbon technology projects. She also met with Africa50, spoke on a panel focused on financing the coming energy demand at the Net Zero Nuclear Summit, joined a business policymaker roundtable event with private sector CEOs, and held a meetings with UAE Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs, Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri, and Massimo Falcioni, Chief Competitiveness Officer of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.
EXIM financing for climate projects surpassed $1 billion in fiscal year 2023, the largest amount in this sector, in fulfillment of the agency’s congressional mandate.
ABOUT EXIM:
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation’s official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. Learn more at www.exim.gov.