Headquarters Press Release
Washington, DC, from :

EPA ADMINISTRATOR WHITMAN LEADS U.S. DELEGATION TO G-8 ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTERS MEETING

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2001

Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 or 564-4355

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman will lead the United States delegation to the meeting of G-8 environmental ministers in Trieste, Italy on March 2-4.

"The principal discussions will be on the status of climate change negotiations, environmental and health issues, especially those related to impacts on children, and sustainable development, including groundwork for the U.N. World Summit on this issue to be held in South Africa next year," said Whitman. "I'm looking forward to engaging in these significant discussions."

Whitman will deliberate on these issues with the environmental ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom as a key preparation for the summit meeting of President Bush and the other G-8 heads of state in Genoa, Italy, next July.

In addition to the G-8 environmental ministers meeting, Whitman will hold private meetings with the Environment Commissioner of the European Union, Margot Wallstroem, and with Canada's Environment Minister, David Anderson, Italy's Minister for the Environment, Willer Bordon, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Prescott, and the Federal Environment Minister of Germany, Juergen Trittin.

While she was Governor of New Jersey, from 1994 to 2001, Whitman headed missions to nine different countries in South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. Prior to becoming EPA Administrator, she chaired the Pew Oceans Commission, formed by the Pew Charitable Trusts to study pollution, coastal development, over fishing and the health of marine life.

The G-8 meetings are held annually. Groundwork is laid for those meetings of heads of the major economic countries with ministerial meetings on key subject areas. Environmental ministers' meetings have been held annually since 1992 in different host countries. Italy previously was the host country in 1994.