The focus of the first UN special session on climate change was on wealthy countries, with policymakers urging long-standing polluters to take on a significant portion of the responsibility for reducing greenhouse gases. British economist Nicholas Stern emphasized the need for both rich and developing nations to be involved in a global agreement to address human-made emissions. Stern proposed a global target of a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050, with wealthier countries taking on even larger objectives, aiming for around 75 percent cuts due to their past responsibility 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 may involve funding emissions cuts in other countries. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also emphasized the need for industrialized countries to take greater action on climate change, acknowledging that the poorest nations will be most affected. Sunita Narain, director of India's Center for Science and Environment, criticized the lack of substantial action by wealthy nations in reducing emissions, despite their rhetoric on the issue. At a recent gathering, environmental scientist John Holdren from Harvard University attributed droughts, floods, rising seas, and more intense storms to global climate change, rather than natural climate variability. Despite being one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, the United States did not make a statement at the meeting and has resisted setting firm targets for reducing emissions, citing concerns about the impact on the economy. Instead, the US has advocated for voluntary emissions cuts. President George W. Bush, along with other leaders from the Group of Eight nations, agreed to make substantial reductions in climate-warming emissions and negotiate a new global climate agreement that would extend and broaden the Kyoto Protocol. The two-day climate meeting at the United Nations, which ends on Wednesday, is unique in both its content and approach. The event is environmentally friendly, as any carbon emissions produced from air travel and the UN Headquarters in New York are balanced out by funding a biomass fuel project in Kenya.