Dhumal to attend global climate change summit

SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is to attend a global summit on climate change to be held later this month in the US, an official said here Tuesday.

“Dhumal has been invited by the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger to participate in the Governors’ Global Summit on Climate Change to be held in the University of California from Nov 15 to 16,” a government spokesperson said.

He said Dhumal got the invitation for the summit through Nobel Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, who is director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Dhumal thanked Schwarzenegger for the invitation and said that it was in recognition of the effective steps initiated by his government to protect the environment and reduce the impact of global warming.

According to a statement by the summit organising committee, the participants and speakers include award-winning producer and director James Cameron, actor Harrison Ford, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Rajendra Pachauri and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.

“I’m proud that we can bring together world-renowned leaders to collaborate on such important issues that affect us all. There is no better way to address the devastating effect that climate change has on our environment and our economy than by building these partnerships around the globe and influencing the global climate movement,” a news release quoting Schwarzenegger said.