The White House today emphasised on the need to have countries like India and China on board on climate change, which it said is crucial for success of the Copenhagen meet in December on the issue.
“We have got to make progress and the international community’s got to make progress getting China and India and developing nations, and evolving world economies like Brazil, on board,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters at his daily press briefing.
“This is not just a one-country solution. There has to be an international effort to address this,” Mr. Gibbs addressed on the eve of the Major Economies Forum meet on Climate Change in Washington.
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The Indian delegation is led by Special Envoy to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Shyam Saran. The first meeting since the leaders of the Major Economies met in L’Aquila, Italy on July 9, the two-day meeting would be chaired by Michael Froman, the Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs.
Special U.S. Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern would lead the American delegation for the meeting to be held at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department on September 17 and 18.
Other members of the Indian delegation are Rajiv Mishra, Joint Secretary (U.N.), Ministry of External Affairs; R.R. Rashmi, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forests; and Ajay Mathur, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
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U.S. President Barack Obama will take part in the U.N. Secretary-General’s discussion on climate next week at the U.N., he said.
“We hope to continue to make progress leading up to Copenhagen, understanding that we are one part of what has to happen internationally, and understanding that we are working through years and years of an issue that hasn’t been at the forefront of many different agendas here in the White House,” Mr. Gibbs said.