Bill Clinton: "Green" economy offers great rewards

[jpak]

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN0150732120071102

SEATTLE (Reuters) - The shift to a green economy is the biggest economic opportunity facing the United States since the military buildup to World War Two, former President Bill Clinton said on Thursday.

Addressing the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection Summit, Clinton said initiatives to combat global warming, such as the retrofit of old buildings and switching to more fuel-efficient cars, would create jobs and boost wages.

"In my view for the United States, it is the greatest economic opportunity we've had since we mobilized for World War Two," Clinton said. "If we do it right, it will produce job gains and income gains substantially greater than the 1990s."

Clinton spoke to a group of U.S. mayors who have agreed to meet the goals of the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement for fighting climate change.

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