Berliner Invited to Join DOE Roundtable on Climate and Energy

Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner was invited to meet with U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and nine influential energy leaders from across the nation at 1 p.m. on Jan. 28, to discuss “ways in which we can better work toward common goals.”

The 90-minute roundtable will be held at the U.S. Department of Energy Forrestal Building in Southwest Washington, D.C.

“Dr. Moniz looks forward . . . to hearing from all participants regarding your work, your outlook on the Administration’s efforts on climate and energy, and ways in which we can better work toward common goals. This event is intended to be an exchange of ideas and information and is not intended to result in any type of consensus findings or recommendations,” said the invitation to participate in the event.

Councilmember Berliner said he will talk about two significant issues he has been pursuing locally and which he hopes will gain support nationally.

“I am honored to have been included among such distinguished national energy leaders and to have this unique opportunity to share with Secretary Moniz the perspective of a progressive local government”

“Given the refusal of Republicans in Congress to support any real effort to address climate change, it is important for the Obama Administration to use willing local and state governments to advance this critical mission, said Berliner. He continued, “DOE can play a positive role in helping local governments advance the President’s clean energy and energy productivity goals. At the same time, states like Maryland can use DOE’s help in laying the foundation for Utility 2.0 distribution service that is appropriate for the 21st Century. These are among the ideas I will bring to this discussion with Secretary Moniz and some of the nation’s most influential leaders on energy.”

In addition to Secretary Moniz and Councilmember Berliner, who chairs the Montgomery Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, scheduled to participate in the roundtable discussion are:

• Kathleen Rest, Executive Director of the Union of Concerned Scientists
• Ethan Zindler, Director of Policy Analysis of Bloomberg New Energy Finance
• Manish Bapna, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of World Resources Institute
• Mike McAdams, President of Advanced Biofuels Coalition
• José L. Perez, Chairman and CEO of Hispanics in Energy
• David Foster, Executive Director of the Blue Green Alliance
• Jason Grumet, President of the Bipartisan Policy Center
• Greg Staple, CEO of American Clean Skies Foundation
• André Pettigrew, Executive Director of Climate Prosperity Project, Inc./Clean Economy Solutions.

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