Business and Policy Leaders Advance Global Clean Tech Opportunities and Cutting-edge Policy
LOS ANGELES, CA – With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen top-of-mind and the State of the Union address forthcoming, government and business leaders from the Western region and around the world gathered in Los Angeles at the VERDEXCHANGE Conference to advance the growing and fast-evolving markets for green and clean technologies.
“This is my third VERDEXCHANGE Conference,” said the Chair of the California Air Resources Board Mary Nichols. “Each time I think it gets better because we’ve gone beyond generalizations about the importance of climate change and opportunities for the business community into really concrete discussions about areas where investments may be appropriate and ways in which government can do more to help promote opportunities and create jobs within California as well as nationally.”
The 26 expert panels focused on sharing the “game changing” impacts of new regulations and attitudes towards environmental sustainability, climate change and energy conservation efforts shaping the global, trillion dollar green marketplace.
During the event’s first panel Congressman Earl Blumenauer (Oregon) said, “I come to California for inspiration for what we are doing in Washington D.C.” He added that “government policy does in fact work and drive energy policy.”
The conference is a noteworthy occasion bringing together the financial professionals, politicians and the utilities important for increasing energy security and making a new economy, remarked Member of the German Parliament Hans-Joseph Fell.“It is important for all parts of the world to avoid rising oil prices and provide new jobs. When we make new policies like feed-in tariffs, capital will be invested. This conference is a good place for discussions like this,” said Fell.
Regarding a regional low-carbon economy, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas declared, “We’ve begun to see the long-term payback of green infrastructure. What’s good for the environment can be good for business.”
VERDEXCHANGE, in collaboration with strategic partners the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, Southern California Edison, AECOM, SoCalGas/Sempra Energy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Craton Equities, and the consulates of Canada, German and Japan, once again hosted an unmatched opportunity to learn from and network with global, national, and subnational climate change leaders, elected officials, environmental stewards, investors, and financiers.
Participating speakers also included: Chair of the California Energy Commission Karen Douglas; Western Director of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Felicia Marcus; Former Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for Climate Change Mutsuyoshi Nishimura; President of the California Public Utilities Commission Michael Peevey; President and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada Vicky Sharpe. For the full list of speakers, visit: http://www.verdexchange.org/conference/speakers.
VerdeXchange, LLC is an environmental think tank and publisher created to inform and strategically advise green innovators wishing to diffuse green technology and innovations in the marketplace.
For more information visit http://www.verdexchange.org
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