Al Gore flies into Reykjavik for top 'green' conference – Fishupdate.com

FORMER American vice president and global environmental campaigner, Al Gore flies into Reykjavik this weekend for a conference organised by Icelandic bank Glitnir.

The Nobel prize winner and global environmental campaigner has been invited to the Icelandic capital by Glitnir Bank to make a major address on the challenges such as fishing, energy and pollution. Al Gore will be visiting Reykjavik next weekend as a guest of the President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson.

Larus Welding, chief executive of Glitnir Bank, said the meeting with Al Gore is related to Glitnir’s overseas efforts to promote the bank’s expertise in sustainable energy.

Although his speech is likely to concentrate on sustainable energy, he is expected to talk about global fish stocks and measures – or the lack of them – to ensure that they remain fully sustainable.

In the past he has blamed both over fishing and global warming for the parlous state of the world’s fish stocks.

He is following in the footsteps of his previous boss, former US President Bill Clinton who was in Iceland and the Faroe Islands last summer when he expressed concerns over the state of global fish stocks.

He warned at the time that some of the elements of the food chain of fish – the plankton – were not able to survive under the water because of these above water environmental changes and this was threatening stocks.

He added: “Glitnir is at the forefront in international financial services for geothermal energy projects. We are already engaged in a number of exciting ventures in the U.S. with leading companies in this field. The Bank has obtained considerable attention among numerous parties who are participants in the public discourse on sustainable energy resources, one of them being Al Gore.”

Mr Welding said the meeting with Al Gore is important in light of Glitnir’s progress in the field of renewable energy resources, which offer numerous opportunities particularly with the record-high oil prices seen in recent months.

“Al Gore is one of the world’s most influential people of our times in environmental matters. It is therefore important for us to provide him with an insight into our work and the know-how possessed by Icelandic companies in the field of sustainable energy,” he concluded.

The meeting will be open to members of the public.

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