• Jackson Hole, Wyoming
  • Wild buffalo roam in a natural environment.
  • One of a multitude of wildflowers in Jackson Hole
  • Jackson Hole wildlife.
  • Another reality in Wyoming....it is estimated that seventy-five, mile long coal trains leave Wyoming daily. The largest coal producing state in the U.S., Wyoming contributes 450 million tons of coal to the 1.1 billion tons burned domestically, annually accounting for about 35% of coal related emissions of CO2 from the U.S.
  • Wyoming’s Jim Bridger coal fired power plant by itself, emits about 18 million tons of CO2 per year into the earth’s atmosphere.
  • Coal trucks in China’s Shanxi Province, where 700 million tons of coal are produced, contributing about 15% of the coal related CO2 emissions in all of China.
  • In China emissions from coal conflict with tourism, dirtying the air and environment. Total annual global emissions of CO2 from coal from all countries are approximately 12 billion tons into our earth’s atmosphere.
  • JHCGA joins other cosponsors of U.S.-China Clean Coal Forum in signing Memorandum of Understanding affirming the benefits of coal gasification, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, Sept 2006.
  • David Wendt, President, Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs and Niu Renliang,
    Vice Governor, People's Government of Shanxi Province.
  • October 2007, JHCGA organized a tourism delegation to Wutai Shan, Shanxi Province, the delegation is seen here seated on the steps of the Pu Sa Ding temple.
  • Themes of nature are ubiquitous in the Chinese culture reflecting their values about environment which come into conflict with modernizing.
  • Signatories of "Jincheng Declaration," Jincheng, China, February 2009, committing their organizations to the promotion of energy savings and emissions reduction.
  • October 2009, Jincheng Mayor Wang presented a Chinese scroll to Teton County Commissioner Hank Phibbs and Jackson Mayor Mark Barron. JHCGA brought Mayor Wang to Jackson to help initiate a series of energy sustainability meetings in Jackson.
  • October 2009, JHCGA brought Mayor Wang and his delegation to Yellowstone where they were inspired and thrilled to see Old Faithful, some geysers, and the beautiful clean environment.
  • October 2009, JHCGA hosted Huang Shengchu, President of the China Coal Information Institute (center), in a meeting with co-chairs of the Wyoming State Legislature's Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, Grant Larson (right center) and Tom Lockhart (left center) and committee member Jim Roscoe (second from left). Other participants in the meeting were Cheyenne lawyer Larry Wolfe (rear right) and JHCGA Advisory Board member, Bill Schmoe (far right).
  • February 2011, six members of the Shanxi Provincial Tourism Administration traveled to Jackson to promote the Sister City Partnership between the mountain towns of Wutai Shan in Shanxi Province and Jackson, Wyoming. Visit www.chinawyomingpartners.com for more information.
  • July 2011, Jim Bullard, President, Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis and Dennis Lockhart, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, spoke at the 3rd Annual Rocky Mountain Economic Summit co-sponsored by the Global Interdependence Center and the Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs.
  • David Wendt with Tian Xizhao, Special Representative for the Jackson Hole Center for Global affairs in China, and Olivia Meigs with the JHCGA Shanxi team for the Central China Expo, September, 2011 where David Wendt gave a speech on cleaner coal mining and combustion practices.
  • David Wendt with Tian Xizhao, Special Representative in China for JHCGA, and Cao Dajun of Shanxi Coking Coal Group Co., LTD. at the Forum on International Mining and Low Carbon Economy Investment, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, September 2011.
  • Air pollution in Shanxi Province where massive construction projects fill the sky, leading to increased demands for energy.
  • Street scene in Taiyuan, capitol city of Shanxi Province
  • Street scene in Beijing
  • Street scene in Beijing
  • December 2011, Roger Altman, Chairman and Founder of Evercore and Former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury speaking about the global economic outlook at the JHCGA Global Business Roundtable.

Welcome

Mission Statement: Harnessing the inspirational power of Jackson Hole, the Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs brings together individuals and organizations to identify and respond to global issues of interest and concern to the community and beyond.

The Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs (JHCGA) is a bipartisan, community-based policy center with a global reach. We convene meetings in Jackson Hole to increase awareness of global issues which affect the community. If appropriate, and where possible, we also bring organizations together from the U.S. and beyond to address these issues. Reversing a familiar adage, we “think locally” and “act globally.”

Our partners include U.S. government agencies (e.g., Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency), corporations, (e.g., GE), non-profit organizations (e.g., Natural Resources Defense Council), and government jurisdictions in China (e.g., Peoples Government of Shanxi Province) and elsewhere in the world. We are the only Jackson-based organization which provides this opportunity for the community to take action on global issues.

JHCGA is guided by a bipartisan Board of Directors of 6 members and a bipartisan Advisory Board of 20 members. Our flagship project, the U.S.-China Clean Energy Initiative, has brought together over 200 policymakers and technical experts in a half-dozen exchanges over as many years to address the issue of growing global carbon emissions from coal. This partnership links Wyoming and Shanxi province, - the two largest coal-producing states/provinces in the U.S. and China - to share experience and know-how on means of controlling these emissions.

Some of the issues involved in these exchanges are explained in the policy white paper, Clean Coal: U.S.-China Cooperation in Energy Security, written by JHCGA President David Wendt and published in English and Chinese by the East-West Institute (EWI) and the China Institute in International Studies (CIIS). The paper appears in the publications and media coverage page of this website. Others are outlined in the section on Coal Mine Methane, which developed out of a (2008-2010) project organized in cooperation with the municipality of Jincheng in China through a cooperative assistance agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

JHCGA also works with other communities throughout the world. For example, we have worked to establish a “sister city” relationship between Jackson and Wutai Shan, a centuries-old Buddhist shrine and mountain community in China’s Shanxi province. Millions of Chinese Buddhist pilgrims come to worship each year at Wutai Shan, recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a unique Buddhist site in China where Chinese and Tibetan Buddhists worship side-by-side.

Another forum through which JHCGA raises awareness of global issues is the Global Business Roundtable (GBR), also featured in a separate section on this website. Chaired by JHCGA Advisory Board member Bill Best and meeting on an off-the-record basis every 6-8 weeks, the GBR is Jackson’s leading forum for investors and financial managers with global interests. Membership is available on an annual subscription basis.

The GBR also convenes joint meetings periodically with other business-oriented groups. On July 29 at at Snow King Resort, we will join with the Philadelphia-based Global Interdependence Center (GIC) in convening the 3rd Annual Rocky Mountain Economic Summit.