Minister to host top execs at climate blockbuster

28 August 2006

Media Release

Minister will host top executives at special screening of climate change blockbuster

Climate Change Minister Hon David Parker will host senior business decision makers at a special screening of former American Vice President Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth.

The screening is being co-hosted by the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development. Some 107 decision makers are expected to fill the house at Rialto Cinemas, Newmarket, at 6.30pm on September 11.

The Minister says the movie, which this month became the highest-grossing film in company history for Paramount Classics, with total US box office sales of US$22.4 million, is providing a watershed moment worldwide to communicate on one of the most serious long term issues facing the country.

"It's going to be good to look at it with senior business leaders and then informally talk with them about their views on the climate change issue. I know some are still debating whether or not climate change is occurring. The more we discuss the options now, the better," Mr Parker says.

Business Council Chief Executive Peter Neilson says that further climate change policies now being developed will have potentially major implications for business and the country's future.

"We think the movie's a fitting way to focus leaders' attention and increase business engagement on climate change management policies. While we face serious problems, we believe there are practicable answers which will deliver huge benefits for businesses and the country."

An Inconvenient Truth is a documentary based on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide. Its producers say it strips his presentations of politics, "laying out the facts for the audience to draw their own conclusions in a charming, funny and engaging style, and by the end has everyone on the edge of their seats, gripped by his haunting message."

ENDS

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