| The White House President George W. Bush |
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For Immediate Release
August 3, 2007
Invitation to Meeting of Major Economies on Energy Security and Climate Change
August 2, 2007
Dear Prime Minister:
In recent years, science has deepened our understanding of climate change and opened new possibilities for confronting it. I was pleased to join the other G-8 Leaders in June in recognizing the vital need for the major economies to work together to achieve the common objectives of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy security and efficiency, and sustaining economic growth. The G-8 Leaders also welcomed my proposal, announced on May 31, 2007, that the United States convene the major economies to further these objectives. The United States is committed to collaborating with other major economies to agree on a detailed contribution for a new global framework by the end of 2008, which would contribute to a global agreement under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change by 2009.
To this end, I have asked Secretary Rice to host a meeting of major economies in Washington, D.C., on September 27 - 28, 2007. I intend to address the conference. At this meeting, we would seek agreement on the process by which the major economies would, by the end of 2008, agree upon a post-2012 framework that could include a long-term global goal, nationally defined mid-term goals and strategies, and sector-based approaches for improving energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we expect to place special emphasis on how major economies can, in close cooperation with the private sector, accelerate the development and deployment of clean technologies, a critical component of an effective global approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We plan to follow this initial session with a series of meetings throughout 2008 to further refine our plans and accelerate our progress on this important challenge.
I am pleased to invite your country, along with other major economies and the U.N., to participate in this meeting. To assure a focused and productive discussion, I ask that you kindly designate a senior official who will personally represent you in this process and a delegation of up to three additional senior officials able to address the environmental, energy security, and economic aspects of climate change. This could include representatives from your energy, transportation, environment, finance, commerce, or foreign ministries. James L. Connaughton, Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, will serve as my personal representative, and our delegation will consist of senior officials responsible for economic, energy, and climate policy. The U.S. delegation will be in contact with your representatives in the coming weeks to finalize the agenda.
I look forward to working together to find a global solution to these critical challenges.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush