GOVERNOR CRIST HOSTS INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE LEADERS AT FLORIDA SUMMIT ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
July 12, 2007
Contact:
ERIN ISAAC
(850) 488-5394
TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today will host international leaders Minister Matthias Machnig of Germany and Dr. John Ashton of the United Kingdom as dinner keynote speakers at the Alfred I. DuPont Building in Miami during the Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change. Minister Machnig is Germany’s State Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservancy and Nuclear Safety. Dr. Ashton is the United Kingdom’s Special Representative for Climate Change within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
“We are truly honored to have the opportunity to hear from two leading European Union climate change experts at the Florida climate change summit,” Governor Crist said. “Dr. Ashton and Minister Machnig bring years of experience in developing strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions within their own countries as well as throughout Europe.”
About Dr. John Ashton
In June 2006 John was appointed as the UK Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change with the aim of supporting Ministers in delivering a step-change in the international response to climate change – a new strategic priority for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A co-founder and Chief Executive of E3G since 2004, Mr. Ashton has been continuously active in climate diplomacy in various capacities since 1997. He helped negotiate the agreement in 2005 between the European Union and China to demonstrate zero emission coal technology in China, and was closely involved in the EU’s engagement with Russia over the Kyoto Protocol.
About Minister Matthias Machnig
Matthias Machnig has served as Germany’s State Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservancy and Nuclear Safety, since November 1995. Last year, the German federal government approved more than 118 new research projects with a total volume of more than 98 million euro in the renewable energies sector. A third of the funding was allocated to photovoltaics – a solar power technology – a quarter to geothermal energy and approximately 16 percent to wind power.
About the Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change
The summit will bring together policy makers, academics, scientists, environmentalists and the business community to discuss the impact of climate change in Florida. These experts will help develop best practices related to alternative fuels and emission standards. The group’s strongest recommendations will help shape procedures for state agencies and future legislation. For more information, visit www.MyFloridaClimate.com or www.flgov.com.
To offset the energy used for the summit, the State of Florida has worked with the non-profit CarbonFund.org to estimate the carbon emissions created by summit participants through their use of transportation, hotel operations and food preparation. Because carbon emissions have global impact, supporting renewable energy anywhere can compensate for the environmental impact of the summit. The State of Florida’s financial support of renewable wind energy in New Mexico will counterbalance the carbon emissions generated by the summit.
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