The first-ever Governors' Global Climate Summit opened Tuesday with a call for decisive action to address global warming.
The summit brings together U.S. and international leaders to develop cooperative partnerships and promote collaborative actions needed to combat climate change, said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who co-hosted the summit.
The forum also provides an opportunity for states and provinces to work together to reduce emissions, develop their green economies and influence the positions their national governments take in the next global agreement on climate change, Schwarzenegger said in his opening speech.
In addition to Schwarzenegger, governors from the states of Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Wisconsin also co-hosted the summit.
"When California passed its global warming law two years ago, we were out there on an island, so we started forming partnerships everywhere we could," Schwarzenegger said.
"For the first time, we have officials from China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and across the world in the same summit, working toward the same goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and growing green economies in our own backyards," he noted.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist said his state's rapid progress has been possible only through partnership agreements with the United Kingdom and Germany, and with the help of Schwarzenegger.
Crist said progress comes "as we work together, not at the expense of future economic growth but as a necessity for the future prosperity of all nations and states."
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle called the summit an opportunity to strengthen important relationships with business and government officials worldwide. The gathering, he said, will help develop climate change strategies that will save money and create and improve the world's air and water.
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius said the summit provides "an incredible opportunity here to get our nation's economy back on track by creating green jobs and becoming a world leader in the development of clean energy technologies."
She said Kansas' farms and fields will be able to produce tomorrow's energy through biofuels and clean, renewable wind. Rural America, the governor said, is going to play an important part in securing energy independence for the United States.
"Illinois has been a leader in the Midwest and nationally in developing innovative strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change," said Illinois Governor Blagojevich.
" Playing a leading role in the Governors' Summit will give us a chance to meet with world leaders and to learn from each other about how to most effectively tackle this urgent global issue and accelerate the transition to a low carbon society."
The summit emphasizes a "sectoral" approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions with sector-specific breakout sessions focusing on specific actions in such industries as forestry, iron, steel and aluminum, energy and transportation.
The approach is considered to be a promising mechanism for developed nations to support the actions of developing nations with technical and financial assistance.
Showcasing the economic success of California's environmental leadership, the Governors' Summit will feature more than 30 clean-tech companies displaying innovative green technologies, including electric cars, solar-powered flashlights and non-toxic cleaning products.
Representatives from more than 50 states and provinces in the U. S., Canada, Mexico, China, Brazil and United Kingdom are attending the summit. The summit also brings together representatives from the United Nations and European Union.
(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2008)
