The Progressive

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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Jessica Lass at 310/434-2300 (main), 202/468-6718 (cell), jlass@nrdc.org

CA Climate Summit Looks Beyond Borders to Fight Global Warming

Leaders from around the world to discuss climate change through regional and global action

WASHINGTON

Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger concludes the two-day Global Climate Summit, an event designed to engage national and international leaders in global warming solution discussions and raise awareness about the upcoming global climate treaty meeting in Poland this winter. Several U.S. governors and internationally-recognized leaders from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico and the European Union attended the summit. Participants discussed greenhouse gas reporting between countries and states, transportation, deforestation, global trade, and new approaches to energy.

In 2007, several western states signed the Western Climate Initiative committing their respective state to reducing regional global warming emissions by 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. California led the nation in passing legislation (AB 32) to reduce global warming emissions state-wide.

Following is a statement by Felicia Marcus, western director of the Natural Resources Defense Council:

"After eight years of federal negligence, the U.S. finally has an opportunity to lead the international fight against the most harmful effects of global warming. Leaders from China, Brazil, and Wisconsin all understand that global warming is an immediate threat to every country and we all need to work together to address the problem.

"Global warming cannot be solved by one country, but is a global challenge met by sharing solutions. This is our first opportunity to reestablish U.S. global leadership in fighting climate change after nearly a decade of neglect."

NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.

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