FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Matt Letourneau 202-463-5945
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With international climate change negotiations rapidly approaching, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy will convene top executives representing business organizations from the world’s 17 major economies next week for a forum on global energy and climate change challenges.
The Major Economies Business Forum on Energy Security and Climate Change (MEBF), to be held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on September 21-22, is intended to facilitate a dialogue among global business groups in major developed and developing nations ahead of the UN climate change negotiations scheduled for early December in Copenhagen, Denmark.
“We are pleased to host business leaders from around the world for a candid discussion on the challenges and solutions to addressing global climate change while increasing energy options and economic growth,” said Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a keynote speaker at the forum’s Welcome Dinner. “The Major Economies Business Forum should contribute to a more successful and realistic international climate change agreement in Copenhagen.”
Among the confirmed speakers at the forum are U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn); Governor Joe Manchin (D-WV); and U.S. Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.). On the agenda are discussions on increasing technology innovation and investments, bolstering the business community’s voice in the negotiations, harnessing available capital for energy and efficiency projects, and ensuring competitiveness and economic development.
“As both domestic and international climate change negotiations continue, it is important to remember that it will be up to the private sector to execute the decisions made in Washington and Copenhagen,” said Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy. “The Chamber’s Major Economies Business Forum will provide a real-time reality check on the negotiations by addressing the topics that matter most to the global business community like the nexus between energy security and climate policies, intellectual property rights, technology, competitiveness, and economic growth.”
Participants in the MEBF represent nearly 10 million businesses in the world’s largest nations, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, India, and Japan. The MEBF is modeled after the government’s Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which last met in July in Italy. The group’s 17 nations collectively make up 80% of the world’s GDP, nearly 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and 77% of global energy consumption.
The mission of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy is to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders, and the American public behind a common sense energy strategy to help keep America secure, prosperous, and clean. Through policy development, education, and advocacy, the Institute is building support for meaningful action at the local, state, national, and international levels.
The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region. Through its Institute for 21st Century Energy, Global Intellectual Property Center, and International Division, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is actively raising awareness of the business community’s views on elements of an international climate change agreement.