September 21, 2006 11:13 a.m. EDT
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DOW JONES REPRINTS
  This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit:www.djreprints.com. • See a sample reprint in PDF format. • Order a reprint of this article now. Branson to Invest $3 Billion Associated Press
September 21, 2006 11:13 a.m. British business mogul Richard Branson said he will invest about $3 billion to combat global warming over the next decade. Mr. Branson, the billionaire behind the multi-platform Virgin brand, said the money would come from 100% of the profits generated by his transportation and airline sectors. It will then be invested in efforts to find renewable, sustainable energy sources in an effort to wean the world off of oil and coal. ![[Richard Branson]](/public/resources/images/HC-CE512_Branso_20051012082235.gif)
Mr. Branson unveiled the details of the investment into renewable energy at a Thursday morning news conference at the Clinton Global Initiative. "Our generation has inherited an incredibly beautiful world from our parents and they from their parents,'' said Mr. Branson at a press conference with former President Clinton at his side. "We must not be the generation responsible for irreversibly damaging the environment.'' The commitment in one stroke ensures that the conference, which brings people together to brainstorm tangible solutions to global issues, would more than meet its goal of matching last year's efforts. In 2005, the conference resulted in more than $2 billion in pledges; even before Mr. Branson's effort, this year's conference had already brought in more than $350 million. The initiative began Wednesday with a slew of world figures, from First Lady Laura Bush unveiling a plan to bring clean drinking water to Africa and the president of Pakistan stressing the importance of Palestinian peace. DESKTOP NEWS ALERTS
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"We cannot put the cart before the horse by going for Iraq or Lebanon or Afghanistan without solving the Palestinian dispute," Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said. "Let's go to the solution of the Palestinian dispute, other things will themselves fall into line." Mr. Musharraf joined close to 50 current and former world leaders expected to attend the summit being held for the second straight year. The conference brings together government, business and nonprofit sectors in an effort to spur action on poverty, health care, global warming and religious/ethnic conflict. Speaking at another panel, Mr. Clinton said the goals of philanthropists and aid groups working on global problems should not only aim at making an immediate impact but also help to create long-term ways for people to feel they have control over their lives. "The real tragedy of abject poverty and terrible health care and life being basically a roll of the dice is that it breaks the connection between effort and reward and life becomes apparently arbitrary and brutal," Mr. Clinton said. Ms. Bush announced a partnership aimed at bringing clean drinking water to communities in sub-Saharan Africa. The program, called Play Pumps, will install specially designed playground equipment that will use the force generated by children using the equipment to pump clean water from beneath the ground. The program will be financed by $16.4 million from U.S. government agencies and the Case Foundation and the MCJ Foundation. Copyright © 2006 Associated Press
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