“The world must learn to work together, or finally it will not work at all" 
- General Eisenhower

U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum, June 11-13, 2012

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In 2012, I served as a member of the U.S. delegation for the third annual U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum, held in Beijing, representing both Lime Energy and the City of Charlotte.   

This forum is part of the the Energy Efficiency Action Plan, a new addition to the preexisting U.S.-China Ten Year Energy and Environment Framework established in June 2008 under the Bush Administration, and part of the November, 2009 U.S-China bilateral agreement to expand cooperation on climate change, energy and the environment.  As part of the agreement, Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao announced several joint initiatives aimed at expanding energy efficiency across several sectors in their respective countries, including the U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum, which brings together leaders from government, industry and research institutions to share best practices in the areas of building efficiency, industrial facilities and consumer appliances. 

U.S. Mayors' Visit to China, December 3-11, 2011  
Clean Energy for Smart Cities: Sharing Best Practices and Technologies

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In December of 2011, I had the privilege of representing Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx and the City of Charlotte at the 2011 U.S. mayors’ and senior official visit to China.  This trip was in collaboration with the Energy Team of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People’s Republic of China (MOHURD). 

This exchange brought a delegation of American mayors and senior municipal officials to China for a training and learning visit, designed to build partnerships between Chinese and American government and private sector representatives to support low carbon development.  This program annually brings together city leaders from both countries to share best practices, explore urban planning tools and technology and develop urban systems that are environmentally sound, and builds on the U.S.-China Ten-Year Framework for Cooperation on Energy and Environment, established in 2008.

The Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office, Sister Cities International, Alliance to Save Energy, and several DOE national laboratories worked in partnership with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development (MOHURD) and National Academy of Mayors in China (NAMC) to organize this visit.  Cities visited included Beijing, Tianjin, and Langfang.  The following presentation provides an overview of key takeaways from this visit:
Martin Schoenbauer, Executive Director, U.S. Department of Energy China Office:

"Sharon supported the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2011 Mayor’s exchange program with China...The demands of her assignments required that she be able to hold informal discussions with a wide variety of leaders from industry, non-government organizations, and academia as well as work in very formal, high level U.S. and China official meetings.  Her exceptional knowledge of clean energy, urban planning, and China customs along with her can do spirit enabled the success of this program. 

Recognized as a talented spokesperson, Sharon was frequently called upon to speak for the U.S. delegation. We also relied on Ms. Reed to play a leading role in identifying lessons learned and best practices to improve the program and looked to her to follow up on key partnerships formed during the course of the mayor’s exchange. 

Ms. Reed made positive and lasting contributions starting on her first day.  She not only performed her assigned set of functions extremely well, she also volunteered to take on a variety of other roles, always willing to learn and contribute direct support to our mission. She is a great team player, whose cooperative approach enables her to work well in any environment. 

Her self confidence, technical background and ability to rapidly adapt enabled her to take on challenging subject matter in a wide range of new energy technologies. She always did her homework and came prepared. Ms. Reed has proven that she can operate at high levels in a wide range of both technical and diplomatic settings and has the potential to become a key leader in the global energy industry, bridging the cultural divide between China and the United States of America."