CANCUN, MEXICO (December 11, 2010) Following the announcement that negotiators reached an agreement in Cancun, the BlueGreen Alliance released this statement from Executive Director David Foster:

“We commend negotiators for making progress on the critical issue of addressing climate change – the biggest environmental and economic challenge of our time. Confronting climate change will not only protect the environment for communities and workers around the world, but has the potential to create and preserve good jobs through the just transition to clean, renewable energy.

“After two weeks of negotiations, a balanced path has been put forward, including progress on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation, adaptation to climate change, technology transfer, the development of a green climate fund, and – most importantly – measuring, reporting and verification. In addition, the inclusion of just transition and decent work in the Shared Vision is a critical factor in a global climate agreement to ensure that this transition to a clean energy economy preserves and creates good jobs.

“But while some progress was made here in Cancun, much more work is required as we look to negotiations in South Africa. Looking ahead, countries must meet their commitments and continue to move forward aggressively on these key issues to achieve a global agreement that creates millions of good, green jobs in every corner of the world.”