Bill Clinton: Green Investments Needs Cash to Create Jobs
At his 7th annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in NYC Tuesday, former president Bill Clinton announced that green investments and energy saving projects can supply thousands of jobs to Americans if they can get enough funding.
In the opening session, the world’s leaders lamented a lack of environmental progress, something that Clinton argues can be fixed by allocating the right amount of money to certain pro-green organizations.
Clinton urged the attendees of the meeting, which included President Barack Obama and more than 50 heads of state, that the environmental crisis is no longer a theoretical figment of the future. Rather, serious moves must be made in the present to maintain the world as it is today.
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“I think it’s quite possible that the Maldives won’t be here in 30 to 40 years,” said Clinton.
Although initially dismal, the former president flipped his argument to encourage the wealthy, powerful participants to invest in green companies.
In major cities such as New York City, buildings produce 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, Clinton also encouraged green makeovers to buildings and public transportation
Clinton argued that to avoid another disappointing outcome next year, the program must work practically and economically, with money being provided upfront for funding. He urged bankers and investors to stop sitting on their money and invest it in promising programs.
He then pointed listeners in the direction of the green movement, which has gained immense popularity in the past few years and already provided ideas for new companies and therefore new job opportunities. Clinton sees the green revolution as the cash cow of the future.
"This is a huge deal. This could be done not just in the United States but in every European country, in every wealthy Asian country. This system will work and you get guaranteed savings," said Clinton.
Clinton, upholding the Initiative's rule that every member must make a commitment for the upcmoing year, pledged to invest $10 billion in energy efficient infrastructure, and he suggested his fellow leaders and bankers do the same. Clinton urged that investing this money in green business would provide an extensive opportunity to Americans, over nine percent of which are currently unemployed.
The CGI is scheduled to continue through Wednesday. Last year’s outcome proved successful; 300 new committees valued at $6 billion were formed.
There was a wide-range of intellectual and humanitarian guests at this year’s initiative, including a discussion with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and a live satellite meeting with Laureate Nobel Peace Prize Aung San Suu Kyi, both of whom are attributed to garnering great global success for CGI.
