Wednesday, 30 September 2009 - States Advance Efforts to Find Solutions to Global Climate Challenge, Build Green Economies. In Los Angeles on Wednesday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and United Nations officials welcomed more than 1,200 attendees from more than 70 states, provinces and countries to the Governors' Global Climate Summit 2. As the largest gathering of regional leaders focused on climate solutions, this summit will help to develop cooperative partnerships and promote collaborative actions needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build green economies and fight global climate change. The efforts made here provide subnational leaders the opportunity to influence the position of their national governments in advance of negotiations for the next global agreement on climate change taking place in Copenhagen this December.
"Experts and leaders from around the world join together this week in an effort to move closer toward a global solution to address climate change," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "When California first adopted its landmark legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, we immediately reached out to neighboring states and provinces who shared our commitment to fighting global warming and creating new, green economies. This summit builds on those partnerships and together we are calling on our national governments to recognize the innovative solutions we have to offer. This is an incredible opportunity to create the economies of the future and we must seize it."
"We need to share the climate change expertise from California, Quebec, Brittany and other champion states with regions and provinces in developing countries," said Olav Kjorven, UN Assistant Secretary-General and director of policy at the United Nations Development Programme. "With the knowledge of green planning, investment and implementation, they can effectively address the interlinked climate change and poverty crisis. If they can set their economies on low carbon development paths, they will cut emissions, access renewable energy and adapt agriculture to new rainfall patterns while alleviating poverty. To succeed in the global fight against climate change and poverty, regions and integrated climate planning need to have an important role in the Copenhagen climate deal."