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Clinton Global Initiative nets 7.3 billion dollars in pledges

TODAY Online
Posted on Saturday September 23, 2006

Former US president Bill Clinton said his aid initiative garnered 7.3 billion dollars in pledges aimed at fighting poverty, global warming and religious friction.

A total of 215 pledges were made during the second annual Clinton Global Initiative, which gathers heads of state, entrepreneurs and foundations to discuss practical ways to address the planet’s pressing problems.

“The world is unequal, unstable and unsustainable,” Clinton said in a closing speech at the three-day forum. “All we tried to do here is to create a small piece of common ground.”

He called for leaving “our useless resentments behind so we can learn from each other and lift our vision to a better place. It seems to me that’s what this interdependent world demands of us.”

This year the global warming issue seemed to generate more interest than ever.

British tycoon Richard Branson pledged Thursday to invest the next 10 years’ profits from his Virgin Group’s airline and train businesses in renewable energy initiatives. The company estimated the commitment was worth about three billion dollars.

Clinton unveiled Friday the creation of a one-billion-dollar “green fund” to support renewable energy initiatives. The fund was launched by a partnership between businessmen Stephen Bing, Ron Burkle and Vinod Khosla and a former World Bank president, James Wolfensohn.

US retail titan Wal-Mart announced an initiative to cut the use of packaging materials by five percent, saying it would have a significant environmental benefit. “Oh, this is good!” a pleased Clinton told Wal-Mart chief executive H. Lee Scott.

The former Democratic president also thanked the founders of Google, who are offering free advertising to any nongovernmental organization pledging to his initiative: “Thanks, guys!”

A diverse group rubbed shoulders at a major Manhattan hotel, including Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, former US president Jimmy Carter, former US secretary of state Colin Powell, News Corp mogul Rupert Murdoch, and Hollywood stars Michael Douglas and Barbra Streisand.

The singer donated one million dollars to the Clinton Foundation for its programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

In other sectors, the American-Indian Foundation pledged to invest 1.5 million dollars in programs to fight AIDS in India.

Jim Zogby, president of the Washington-based think tank Arab American Institute, plans to use television programs to foster dialogue between Arab and American youths.