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Inslee joins Pelosi on trip to address warming with leaders in India

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Inslee joins Pelosi on trip to address warming with leaders in India

26 March 2008

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee today returned from a 10-day trip to India with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan group of eight other members of Congress. This was his second trip to India. 

The visit primarily focused on engaging Indian government and business leaders in talks about addressing global warming by cutting carbon emissions and increasing the use of clean-energy technologies. Due to its industry and population, India is projected to become the world’s third largest emitter of carbon dioxide by 2015, up from the fifth largest in 2005.

Members of the congressional delegation addressed this subject in discussions with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; the nation’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Shyam Seran; Dr. R.K. Pachauri, winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with former Vice President Al Gore; and, other global-warming experts from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

To continue this important dialogue on climate change, a committee on which Inslee serve, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, is expected to hold a hearing in Washington, D.C., in April on involving developing countries like India in solutions to global warming.

In addition to talks on addressing climate change, the delegation visited His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala to discuss the current situation in Tibet.

“It was truly uplifting to drive by hundreds of Tibetan monks and children forced from Tibet, who were waving American and Tibetan flags to welcome Speaker Pelosi,” said Inslee.

“At our lunch with the Dalai Lama, he was relaxed, open and displayed the hearty sense of humor he is well known for. He made several things clear. First, he believes an international investigation into the violence in Tibet is fully warranted. Second, he is willing to throw all his e-mails and communications open to disprove the scandalous assertion that he has provoked the violence. Third, he is not calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics because he respects the Chinese people and has no desire to injure their athletic efforts or dignity as a nation. I believe he was reasonable on all counts,” he continued.

The congressional delegation included Pelosi, Inslee, the Chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Ranking Member James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, Chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee George Miller of California, and Representatives Jim McDermott of Washington, Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, Anna Eshoo of California, Rush Holt of New Jersey, and Hilda Solis of California.