OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - The Danish ambassador to the U.S. says Americans need to be more aggressive in pursuing renewable energy, electricity conservation, and embracing global climate change initiatives.
Friis Arne Petersen spoke Monday to Kansas City business leaders during an energy symposium in Overland Park.
"This isn't health, this is climate and energy policy that are global issues and are all interdependent. We would do the same kind of speech in China or Japan or India," he said.
Petersen said that while the U.S. has begun to fight global warming and its dependence on on foreign oil, the nation is still "lagging behind" many European countries.
He says the world needs U.S. leadership.
Petersen expressed concern that Congress has not yet passed climate control legislation ahead of December's global climate conference in Copenhagen.
The House passed a bill in June calling for a 17 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and the senate is considering legislation to cut emissions by 20 percent over the same period.
Last week a White House official said it was unlikely a bill will be passed by the end of the year.
