[June 24, 2014]WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House
officials and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will meet with billionaire
environmental activist Tom Steyer on Wednesday to discuss climate
change, a White House official said.
The meeting will include former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson,
former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros,
and Cargill Chief Executive Greg Page, who have worked together on a
forthcoming "Risky Business report," which studies the economic
consequences of climate change.
That report and President Barack Obama's climate change policies
will be the focus of the meeting, the official said.
Steyer is a major opponent of the Keystone XL oil pipeline project.
The Obama administration is in the middle of a long process to
decide whether to approve or reject the pipeline, which would bring
oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Steyer has pledged to spend up to $100 million to make sure climate
change is a top issue in the November U.S. elections. His meeting
with White House officials illustrates the extent to which the
administration wants his support, and the increasing importance
Steyer has placed on working with, not against, members of the
Democratic Party.
The meeting is part of a White House push on climate change policy.
Earlier this month, the Obama administration unveiled new rules
limiting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
The official said the White House would also host a meeting on
Tuesday between administration officials, including senior Obama
advisers John Podesta and Valerie Jarrett, and representatives from
insurance and re-insurance companies to "discuss the economic
consequences of increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather and
the insurance industry’s role in helping American communities
prepare for extreme weather and other impacts of climate change."
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
