The closing plenary of the first day of CGI has started (watch live). It will feature a discussion on children in conflict with Angelina Jolie (see below), Nicolas Kristof, Mohammed Atmar, Valentino Deng, and Alvaro Uribe. But first, President Clinton announced some commitments and made a comment about energy efficiency. He said that if the leading emitters of carbon -- including the U.S., China, and India -- were to bring their energy efficiency levels to that of Japan, global greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by 20 percent. Remarkable. For a summary of what that might look like, check out this report.
The press room here cleared out about 15 minutes ago. Angelina Jolie is in the room next door announcing her new Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, "a historic education partnership to address the needs of children living in conflict, post-conflict refugee, and emergency situations." This alliance has been built out of a long and diverse list of partners including UNICEF, Save the Children, the Sesame Workshop, UNHCR (Angelina's tie-in). They are making the commitment to help 350,000 children go to school and improve the learning environment of another 650,000 -- including 200,000 Iraqi refugees (maybe Angelina advocated for this after her recent trip) and 300,000 children affected by Darfur. As you can see from the photo above, there were many up on the stage, but Angelina got about 80 percent of the questions.
The Clinton Global Initiative's afternoon plenary on "Protecting Tropical Forests" has just begun. I'm in the press room tuning in. This session is being moderated by climate expert Rosina Bierbaum. In her opening remarks, she lays out a pretty persuasive case for why we should be paying more attention to tropical forests, particularly if we are interested in addressing climate change. According to Bierbaum, "forests are the lungs of the world," and their decimation is responsible for 20 percent of carbon emissions. Apparently, if we continue on the same path, over the next hundred years, deforestation would add 80 to 135 million tons of carbon to the atmosphere, the equivalent of one or two decades of fossil fuel burning. It would also decrease the Earth's biodiversity by 20 to 40 percent. She just passed the mic over to Jane Goodall. I'll keep you posted.
...at the opening of the 62nd General Assembly today:
With the commitment and courage of this chamber, we can build a world where people are free to speak, assemble, and worship as they wish a world where children in every nation grow up healthy, get a decent education, and look to the future with hope, a world where opportunity crosses every border. America will lead toward this vision where all are created equal, and free to pursue their dreams. This is the founding conviction of my country. It is the promise that established this body. And with our determination, it can be the future of our world. Thank you, and may God bless you all.
(Full text of the President's speech). More analysis to come.
The 62nd UN General Assembly opens today at 9am ET with remarks by Secretary-General Ban, the GA President Dr. Srgjan Kerim, the President of Brazil, and, at approximately 9:45am ET, President Bush. I'm still in New York at the UN following our hosting bloggers at the High-Level Event on Climate Change yesterday. The energy level (and security level) in Turtle Bay is high. Watch live and stay tuned on UN Dispatch for analysis. The opening session (and the statements of world leaders) will continue through today and tomorrow.
By Olav Kjorven, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau of Development Policy, UNDP, and member of the UN Secretary General's climate team
Today at the United Nations, the world is coming together, at the request of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to address a truly global challenge. Climate change is the kind of issue that the UN was created to deal with. Today, we'll address the climate challenge with words. Of course, it's going to take much, much more than that to ensure a sustainable future for our kids, their kids, and beyond, but if today’s discussions inject energy, purpose, and will into the global response to climate change, as the Secretary-General and indeed, we all hope they will, then they will have served a valuable purpose.
By James K. Boyce, Director of the Political Economy Research Institute's program on Development, Peacebuilding, and the Environment and Professor, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts
To combat global warming we must confront two tragedies of open access. The first used to be called the "tragedy of the commons," a misnomer since societies often devise rules to manage common property sustainably. The problem is that when there is open access to a scarce resource, individuals have no incentive to conserve it and instead will overexploit it, even to the point of collapse. In this case the scarce resource is the limited capacity of the Earth's biosphere to absorb and recycle our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
By Representative Tom Udall (D-NM)
As Congress takes its initial steps to address the global warming crisis, I am learning a lesson that is as true in public policy as it is in sky diving: the first step is always the hardest. Thanks to the work of activists from Al Gore to the Union of Concerned Scientists, people from all walks of life finally have begun to pay attention to global warming. Large majorities in countries around the world now acknowledge that global warming constitutes a serious and immediate threat to the world’s ecology and economy. Yet strong Congressional action to address the problem often has seemed a distant hope.
By Steen Riisgaard, CEO of Novozymes A/S
Deadly tornados, hurricanes, extreme and unexpected weather, melting glaciers -- climate change is here. Regardless of the argument of who is to blame for it, global warming has sunk its warm claws into our planet, becoming the greatest global challenge of the 21st century. Countering this challenge requires each one of us to do our share -- use fluorescent light bulbs, choose renewable energy, use energy-saving appliances, drive less, drive fuel-efficient cars, use environmentally-friendly fuel. In the large schema, many measures are being taken and are in the planning to fight global warming. Biofuel has emerged as one of the top warriors in this battle. Experts foresee that biofuels could achieve a 25% share of the liquid fuels market in the future.