Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC November 26, 2007 United States Participation in Bali Climate Change ConferenceThe thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-13) will take place December 3-14, 2007, in Bali, Indonesia. The United States is committed to advancing negotiations at Bali, leading to a new international approach on energy security and climate change. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Dr. Paula Dobriansky will lead the U.S. delegation. In recognition of the importance the United States attaches to this conference, the White House is sending Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality James L. Connaughton to join in leading the Ministerial sessions December 12-14. Chairman Connaughton is a senior advisor to President Bush, and his personal representative to the Major Economies Process on Energy Security and Climate Change. The White House is also sending U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Susan C. Schwab for a December 8-9 Trade Ministers meeting and Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs David H. McCormick for a December 10-11 Finance Ministers meeting. Senior Climate Negotiator and Special Representative Dr. Harlan Watson will attend both weeks, and act as alternate to Dr. Dobriansky. Other senior U.S. representatives attending the Bali conference include Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science Claudia A. McMurray, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andrew Karsner, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union C. Boyden Gray, and U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R. Hume. Additional agencies to be represented include the Department of Agriculture; the U.S. Agency for International Development; Environmental Protection Agency; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce; the National Security Council; the White House Council on Environmental Quality; the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and members of Congress and congressional staff. For further information on the U.S. delegation, please contact Susan Povenmire, Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, U.S. Department of State at 202-647-3486 (povenmiresl@state.gov) or Kristen Hellmer, Director of Communications at the White House Council on Environmental Quality at 202-395-0801 (khellmer@ceq.eop.gov). For further information about U.S. climate change policy, please see: www.state.gov/g/oes/climate.
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