Clinton confab discusses poverty, climate change

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Global warming and poverty are intertwined because the world's poorest people are the ones hardest hit by changes in the climate, and solutions for both problems need to be found, panelists said Thursday at the second day of an annual conference spearheaded by former President Bill Clinton.

"We need programs to match public policy to empower the poorest people and at the same time public policy to fight climate change," President Felipe Calderon of Mexico said at the panel Thursday at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Developing countries should aim for sustainable development but also be realistic in efforts to reduce inequality, said Rajendra K. Pachauri, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for sounding the alarm on global warming.

"In the initial period, if one has to provide infrastructure, industrialize and at the same time provide basic services, we really don't have too many choices but to use fossil fuels," he said.

But he warned developing countries against following the path of the industrialized world and encouraged them to find a new, sustainable way.

In the United States, efforts to fight global warming can be an opportunity to do the same against poverty, said Van Jones, a civil rights and environmental advocate. Working to make buildings in the United States more energy-efficient could provide millions of jobs, he said.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain spoke to attendees the initiative's second day, and his Democratic counterpart, Barack Obama, made an appearance via satellite. Both underlined the connection between U.S. interests and international problems in health and education.

Former President Clinton, who started the annual program, briefly mentioned presidential politics, recalling a conversation with Obama he had this month at Clinton's office in New York.

"Eighty percent of the conversation had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the responsibilities of the next president for the welfare of the American people and the future of the world," Clinton said.

The conference opened Wednesday and included former Vice President Al Gore, Bono, Bill Gates and Lance Armstrong. Celebrities including Muhammad Ali were in the audience. Speakers Thursday included actress Drew Barrymore and musician Wyclef Jean, who announced a program to provide school food and health care programs to millions of children in more than 30 countries.

CGI, now in its fourth year, draws world leaders, celebrities, activists and scholars for three days of discussions about pressing global problems. It coincides with the General Assembly meeting taking place on the other side of town at the United Nations.

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On the Net:

http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org

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