Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose efforts to combat global warming California have generated worldwide acclaim, welcomed hundreds of attendees from more than 50 states, provinces and countries to the Governors' Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles, on Tuesday.

The summit has already led to a signed agreement between US governors and governors from Brazil and Indonesia to reduce forestry-related greenhouse gas emissions. At the end of their two-day meeting, participants are expected to sign a declaration outlining their plans for turning climate goals into action.

Commenting on the first state-to-state, sub-national agreement focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and land degradation, Schwarzenegger said: "With this agreement, we are focusing our collective efforts on the problem and requiring our states to jointly develop rules, incentives and tools to ensure reduced emissions from deforestation and land degradation. We are also sending a strong message that this issue should be front and center during negotiations for the next global agreement on climate change."

In support of Schwarzenegger's efforts, President-elect Barack Obama made a four-minute address to Schwarzenegger's conference, saying the US economy would continue to weaken if climate change and dependence on foreign oil are not addressed. He reiterated his support for cutting greenhouse gas emissions using a cap-and-trade system, an approach also favored by Schwarzenegger.

Promoted anew his proposal to invest $15 billion each year to support private-sector efforts toward clean energy, Obama told the participants: "I promise you this: When I am president, any governor who's willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that's willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that's willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America."