Update: Global Shale Gas Initiative Meeting

Twenty nations as well as US federal, state and local regulators are meeting in Washington, D.C as part of the United States’ Global Shale Gas Initiative Conference (GSGI) to discuss the importance of shale gas as a lower-carbon fuel option that can help reduce CO2 emissions, while ensuring energy security and economic development in the 21st century.

"The reason we’re doing this is its part of the State Department’s effort to promote global energy security and climate security around the world,” said David L. Goldwyn, the U.S. Department of State’s Coordinator for International Energy Affairs.

The inaugural shale gas talks were initiated by the United States, which overtook Russia for the first time in decades as the world's top gas producer, based on large part from the development of unconventional gas.

US officials believe that developing shale gas would provide fast-growing nations such as China and India with a cleaner alternative to coal, a heavy contributor to carbon emissions  In Europe, where preliminary drilling is being conducted in Germany, Sweden and Poland, shale gas could increase energy security by reducing dependence on Russian sources of energy .

"For China and India, it's both climate security and economic security, because they have large demand for resources and the market is volatile," he said.

"In Eastern Europe in particular, it's really diversity of supply. It's a national security issue," Goldwyn told reporters.

He said US energy companies made presentations during the talks, but that the main focus was on explaining to other countries how to put in place a regulatory framework to develop shale gas.

"Our goal in this conference was really to be a regulatory conference, rather than trade promotion," he said, describing other delegates as "enthusiastic, but careful" on shale gas.

READ: Today’s statement by David Goldwyn

WATCH: the video