Robert Blake 2/15/24

The Promise and Challenges of Climate Diplomacy

Robert Blake, Former U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia and Sri Lanka

About the Event

So, what was the reality behind the scenes at the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 28) in Dubai? Was it all smoke and mirrors, or was real progress made on accountability? What really goes on in high-level international climate negotiations? And how can even the most carefully negotiated international agreements survive domestic political pressures?

Please join us to hear former U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Robert O. Blake, Jr. discuss diplomatic efforts to address climate change. Ambassador Blake currently leads the Southeast Asia practice at McLarty Associates. He attended COP 29 in Dubai and was recently detailed back to the State Department to help John Kerry conclude a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with Indonesia, the 16th largest economy globally and tenth largest emitter of greenhouse gasses (GHG). JETP is a $20 billion effort funded by the G7 group of industrialized countries plus Denmark and Norway to incentivize Indonesia to move away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/15/indonesia-and-international-partners-secure-groundbreaking-climate-targets-and-associated- financing/). As with many negotiated climate change agreements, domestic controversy has arisen, and civil society and the Indonesian Energy Ministry are now calling for greater public participation and transparency in the implementation of JETP, following the government’s failure to publish the plan for the phased transition in time.

Business Outlook in Southeast Asia

Ambassador Blake will also give his perspective on how the changing global security paradigm (Russia vs West; China’s increasing threats against Taiwan and growing hostility toward the U.S.; Japan’s retreat from pacifism) have impacted the business climate and economic outlook in Southeast Asia.

Biography

Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr. is a Senior Director at McLarty Associates and leads their Southeast Asia practice. He served for 31 years in the State Department in a wide range of leadership positions. From 2013-2016, he served as the US Ambassador to Indonesia, where he focused on building stronger business and educational ties between the US and Indonesia, while also developing cooperation to help Indonesia reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, he was nominated by President Obama to be Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, serving from 2009-2013, for which he was awarded the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award. From 2006-2009, he served concurrently as US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in India from 2003-2006, where he was named the worldwide DCM of the Year by the State Department.