The General Secretariat of the OAS, through its Department of Sustainable Development (DSD), operates the ECPA Technical Coordination Unit since 2009. At the Summit of the Americas held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in April 2009, the U.S. Government invited all governments in the Western Hemisphere to join ECPA. Following up on this invitation, in June 2009 policy makers from several countries in the region met at a working level during the Energy and Climate Symposium held in Lima to discuss possible areas of enhanced cooperation on critical energy and climate issues. The event furthered the dialogue that ensued in Port of Spain and identified concrete next steps for cooperation, including the need for a mechanism—the Technical Coordination Unit—that would facilitate dialogue and coordinate activities and outreach. The governments were highly receptive of an OAS-led Technical Coordination Unit.
The Technical Coordination Unit, conceived as a mechanism to foster partnerships for greater dialogue, collaboration and awareness on energy and climate. The Technical Coordinating Unit is in charge of the Partnership’s communications and outreach efforts and supports ongoing ECPA initiatives, in this capacity, it maintains the ECPA website, publishes quarterly newsletters, engages in partner engagement processes, holds roundtable discussions, and sustains social media presence, among others.
In the same vein as ECPA, the Technical Coordination Unit is not a rigid structure, but rather a flexible and straightforward mechanism that enables partnerships and open dialogue on energy and climate.
Juan Cruz Monticelli
Sustainable Energy Section Chief, Organization of American States
jmonticelli@oas.org
Janelle Conaway
Newsletter Contributor