Schwarzenegger pushes climate agenda

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Hundreds of U.S. and foreign politicians, environmental officials and activists, are gathering in California for a global climate summit.

The event, which begins Tuesday, was organized by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to promote international cooperation on technology and reduction of emissions in major industries, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle are to join Schwarzenegger at the two-day conference, which has drawn about 600 people to in Beverly Hills. The goal of the conference is to create an alliance of states, provinces and regional governments to influence upcoming negotiations on a new global climate treaty, the newspaper said.

Schwarzenegger will join Illinois and Wisconsin in signing agreements with Indonesian and Brazilian states to work on tropical forest preservation. A declaration endorsed by 12 U.S. governors and regional representatives from Brazil, Canada, India, Indonesia and Mexico will call for collaborative action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.