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Aspen Atlantic Group -- The Political Implications of Climate Change (March 2008)
The potential impact of climate change creates an opportunity for both sides of the Atlantic to establish a shared agenda addressing this imminent threat, while enhancing the economic, strategic, and global development relationship. The Aspen Atlantic Group (AAG), comprising former Foreign Ministers from North America, Europe, and Russia, met in Copenhagen, Denmark from March 6 to 9, 2008, with experts in the areas of national security, economics, and legislation to discuss global climate change. Deliberations covered a range of topics, including U.S. movement to address climate change, the integration of emerging countries, the national security implications of a climate shift, the prospects of a global deal during the Copenhagen 2009 summit, and European and American approaches for dealing with this issue.
AAG Ministers unanimously signed on to a post-conference op-ed published in The Boston Globe, April 8, 2008. The article challenges world policy leaders to collectively employ their resources, garnered during their time in government service, towards a new strategy to confront this defining issue of our time. Signatories included: Madeleine Albright (United States), Halldór Ásgrímsson (Iceland), Lloyd Axworthy (Canada), Erik Derycke (Belgium), Jan Eliasson (Sweden), Bronislaw Geremek (Poland), Rosario Green (Mexico), Igor Ivanov (Russia), Ana Palacio (Spain), Niels Helveg Petersen (Denmark), Surin Pitsuwan (Thailand), Lydie Polfer (Luxembourg), Hubert Védrine (France), Knut Vollebaek (Norway), Lamberto Dini (Italy), Gareth Evans (Australia), Joschka Fischer (Germany), Malcolm Rifkind (United Kingdom), and Jozias Van Aartsen (The Netherlands).
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