Schwartzenegger, Gore, Rice and British Environment Secretary call for new agreements, technologies to take the world past Kyoto

Former Vice President Al Gore and California Arnold Schwartzenegger warned yesterday at the UN Climate Change Summit that the time had come for deeds, not words.

“We have to overcome the paralysis that has prevented us from acting and focus clearly and unblinkingly on this world crisis,” said Gore, while Schwartzenegger said “”The time has come to stop looking back at the Kyoto Protocol…. The rich nations and the poor nations have different responsibilities, but one responsibility we all have is action.”

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said that “Ultimately, we must develop and bring to market new energy technologies that transcend the current system of fossil fuels, carbon emissions and economic activity. Put simply, the world needs a technological revolution.”

British Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said that major polluter nations must agree to binding emission reduction targets.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

UN Secretary-General to visit South America; to “see first-hand the effects of climate change” as Bali conference preparations continue

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon starts a South American tour this week and will visit the Antarctic and the Amazon rain forest to "see first-hand the effects of climate change and deforestation on ...

IMF and USDA disagree by a factor of ten on impact of ethanol on food prices as emergency FAO Food Summit begins in Rome

Policymakers are gather in Rome for the FAO Food Summit over the next two days. The US agriculture secretary, Ed Schafer, and the International Monetary Fund disputed the impact of corn ethanol produc...

US climate proposals “simply not enough”, say delegates as Washington climate conference ends

The two-day conference of the 17 "Heavy Smoker" major polluting nations ended with disappointment over President George Bush's call for voluntary emission targets set by each individual country. Th...

CO2 levels still rising despite Kyoto, other measures, says British Antarctic Survey

The British Antarctic Survey released its annual CO2 report, showing that despite worldwide action on climate change through the Kyoto Treaty, CO2 emissions and concentration in the atmosphere is stil...

Gore pushes petition in support of clean energy legislation as Earth Day focus

In Washington, former Vice President Al Gore issued an Earth Day call to support clean energy legislation with a petition drive. The petition can be viewed here, and Gore called for each visitor to hi...

UN Climate Change Conference opens in Bali: delegates hope to frame successor to Kyoto Treaty

The UN Conference on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia opens today. Participants at the ten day long conference hope to frame a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Accord, which expires in 2012. The lea...