The White House
President George W. Bush
Print this document

For Immediate Release
September 27, 2007

Fact Sheet: Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change
U.S. Takes The Lead To Forge Consensus On Energy Security And Climate Change

      In Focus: Environment
      In Focus: Energy

"By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases. To help develop this goal, the United States will convene a series of meetings of nations that produce most greenhouse gas emissions, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and China. In addition to this long-term global goal, each country would establish midterm national targets and programs that reflect their own mix of energy sources and future energy needs."

- President George W. Bush, 5/31/07

Today, the United States will host representatives of 17 world leaders plus the United Nations in the first Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change. This meeting is part of the new initiative President Bush announced at the G-8 Leaders Conference in May 2007 to further the shared objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy security and efficiency, and promoting strong economic growth.

Climate Change Must Be Addressed Together With Energy Security, Economic Growth, And Sustainable Development

The President's international energy security and climate change initiative recognizes that responsible action to address climate change and economic growth go hand in hand. It is only through strong economies that we can sustain the investment necessary to achieve lasting solutions. While all countries must do their part to reduce emissions, we should not seek to impose on any countries measures or frameworks that thwart their efforts to meet the legitimate aspirations of their people for better and more prosperous lives.

Support From International Organizations For Today's Major Economies Meeting

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon: "I appreciate President Bush's initiative." "On climate change, which is a very important issue for all humankind, I appreciate President Bush's initiative, during the Heiligendamm G-8 Summit meeting." (UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Remarks After Meeting With President Bush, The White House, 7/17/07)

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change: "This is the next step in the process." "The UN's top official on climate change, Yvo de Boer, said the conference offered an exceptional chance to break the deadlock for tackling greenhouse gases. 'I view it with a lot of hope and expectation. This is the next step in the process and I am very keen to see where it takes us.'" (Olivier Knox, "Bush Calls Global Climate Summit To Do A Deal," Agence France-Presse, 8/3/07)

G8 Summit Declaration: "We welcome the offer of the United States to host [this] meeting." "To address the urgent challenge of climate change, it is vital that major economies that use the most energy and generate the majority of greenhouse gas emissions agree on a detailed contribution for a new global framework by the end of 2008 which would contribute to a global agreement under the UNFCCC by 2009. We therefore reiterate the need to engage major emitting economies on how best to address the challenge of climate change. … We welcome the offer of the United States to host such a meeting later this year." ("G8 Summit Declaration On Climate Change, Energy Efficiency," Press Release, 6/7/07)

APEC Leaders' Declaration: "We welcome the initiative by the United States to convene a group of major economies." "The world needs to slow, stop and then reverse the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions. We, therefore, call for a post-2012 international climate change arrangement, building on the above, that strengthens, broadens and deepens the current arrangements and leads to reduced global emissions of greenhouse gases. …We welcome the initiative by the United States to convene a group of major economies to seek agreement on a detailed contribution to a post-2012 global arrangement under the UNFCCC." (APEC, "Sydney APEC Leaders' Declaration On Climate Change, Energy Security And Clean Development," Press Release, 9/9/07)

 

# # #


Return to this article at:
/news/releases/2007/09/text/20070927.html

Print this document