The initial UN special session on climate change emphasized the responsibility of wealthy nations in reducing greenhouse gases, with policymakers urging long-standing polluters to take on a significant portion of the burden. Economist Nicholas Stern emphasized the need for both rich and developing countries to be involved in a global agreement to address human-induced emissions. Stern suggested a global target of a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050, with wealthy countries expected to aim for even larger cuts, around 75 percent, due to their historical emissions and greater access to resources. Stern, a former head of the British government's economic service and now at the London School of Economics, suggested that responsibility for financing cuts in emissions in other countries may be necessary. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also expressed similar sentiments at the United Nations, emphasizing the need for industrialized countries to take action on climate change. Sunita Narain, director of India's Center for Science and Environment, criticized the lack of real action by political leaders in reducing emissions and called for more drastic measures to address climate change. John Holdren, an environmental scientist at Harvard University, stated that global climate change is responsible for droughts, floods, rising seas, and more intense storms, which cannot be attributed to natural climate variability. The United States, a major emitter of greenhouse gases, did not make a statement at the recent sessions and has consistently rejected strict targets for reducing emissions, citing potential negative impacts on the economy. Instead, the US has advocated for voluntary emissions cuts. President George W. Bush, along with other leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, agreed in June to make significant but unspecified reductions in emissions and to negotiate a new global climate agreement beyond the Kyoto Protocol. The two-day climate meeting at the United Nations is the first of its kind in terms of substance and approach. The event is environmentally friendly, as any emissions produced by air travel and the UN Headquarters building in New York are balanced out by supporting a biomass fuel project in Kenya.