Ambassador RENO L. HARNISH III, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific
Affairs

DIANA FARRELL, Director, McKinsey Global Institute

KEN CALDEIRA, Scientist, Carnegie Institution Department of Global Ecology

Bush Administration Assistant Secretary of State and Climate Change authority Ambassador RENO L. HARNISH III headlines a panel of experts who will examine the next steps in addressing the crisis. This comes on the heels of last week’s conference in Honolulu that made global headlines. Later this year, Harnish will lead the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008), which will bring together government, civil society and private business leaders to deliberate the benefits and costs of a major and rapid scale-up in the global deployment of renewable energy technology. WIREC will specifically look at developing an overall policy towards reducing greenhouse gas intensity globally. The Honolulu event followed the much-publicized negotiations in Bali in December, which ended with an 11th hour, worldwide consensus on a roadmap for reducing carbon emissions. What happens next? Many tough issues are at stake, including which countries should reduce carbon emissions the most and how much they should rely on either market forces or government regulation.

Commonwealth Club V.P Greg Dalton who orchestrated this event said, “We are honored to assemble such a high profile and esteemed group to explore these critical and timely issues. Our hope is that this discussion will generate some viable solutions in this ongoing global dialogue.”

Ambassador Harnish previously led U.S. policy on scientific and environmental cooperation with the new independent states of the Soviet Union and was Environment, Science and Technology Counselor for the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Diana Farrell directs the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), an economics research arm of the international consulting giant. Ken Caldeira does extensive research on climate change at the Carnegie Institution Dept. of Global Ecology and is an op-ed contributor for the New York Times.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience on February 7, 2008

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