Launching a Climate War Room
British billionaire adventurer and Virgin Group Founder/CEO Richard Branson proposed the creation of an international "environmental war room" led by the United Nations with the sole purpose of staving off human-induced climate change. The group would be run by a world figure in global warming—perhaps Al Gore?—and could serve as "a tool for the UN." to find good ideas, calculate the costs of implementation, and figure out how to best implement them.
"The "war room" will be independent of politics," Branson said. "But in the end it will need the United Nations, governments and other organizations to help make sure implementation happens."
With UN General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and actress Daryl Hannah by his side, Branson outlined the idea at a two-day UN debate last week on what to do about climate change. The UN is busy trying to formulate its own stance on global warming, and would like to have a new all-encompassing climate treaty (one that would include participation by the U.S., China and India) in place by 2009.
Branson pledged back in 2006 to invest all the profits from Virgin’s five airlines and one rail company—some $3 billion over the next decade—in developing alternative energy sources that do not contribute to global warming. No doubt, he is hoping that help from the UN and other major world players will allow him to leverage those dollars for a more effective overall outcome.
Source: MSNBC