White House holds climate summit in preparation for COP21

US Vice President, Joe Biden, addressed a key climate summit at the White House recently in preparation for the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris next month.

Biden was speaking at the Summit on Climate Change and the road Through Paris and outlined the US stance on the international negotiations.

The White House summit brought together government representatives, business leaders and scientists including Dr. Enrest Moniz, Secretary of Energy, Todd Stern, Special Envoy for Climate Change, and Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for the Office of Science and Technology.

Vice President Joe Biden expressed his thanks to the 81 large businesses that have committed to making significant shifts in their manufacturing to help combat climate change.

Proctor and Gamble, as presented by President of Home Care, Shailesh Jejurikar, appeared to be making some of the most significant and committed differences.

Mars Inc. were represented by Barry Parkin, Chief Sustainability Officer, and the issue of over 1 million of their farmers living in poverty was raised during the summit.

The Panel Discussion followed a meeting President Obama had with CEOs from across the country, who are acting on climate change.

President Obama said: “For these companies, they're discovering that they can enhance their bottom lines. For decades, our addiction to fossil fuels, to imported oil, I think not only threatened our planet and our security, but also our economy. And what we've been able to do over the last seven years is, even as we've attained number-one status in the production of oil and gas, what we've also been able to do is to slowly begin the transition of our economy to a cleaner, smarter approach to using energy.”

Obama added: “We have now doubled our production of clean energy. We've been reducing our carbon footprint even as the economy grows. And this progress isn't just creating a safer planet, it's also creating jobs, it's creating business opportunities, and it's something that customers are increasingly looking for.”