California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his counterparts from Canada, Nigeria, France and Algeria announced Monday that they have agreed to advance the concept of a new regional coalition to make stronger commitments to fight climate change.

These founding members of the Club of 20 Regions (R20), which is expected to declare its official launch next September, are committed to fast-track the results of the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference and push their respective national governments into taking more rapid climate actions, said a statement released by Schwarzenegger's office.

The R20 coalition is an extension of the Global Climate Solutions Declaration signed at the Second Governors' Global Climate Summit in October in California.

"R20 will help pave the way in the transition to a green economy that will clean the environment, create green jobs and respond to the unavoidable impacts of climate change," said Schwarzenegger.

"Action is needed at the national and international levels to reduce the effects of global warming," he stressed, adding that the challenges of climate change require an unprecedented level of cooperation and collaboration on all levels of government.

He said that California has shown that "state and regional governments can also institute policies on their own that will see real environmental improvements and grow green jobs."

The founding leaders will develop the coalition's principles and formulate a shared vision of global security and prosperity while more R20 members will be recruited.

Meanwhile, they have reached a consensus on the draft of the attached R20 Concept, which commits members to sharing successful climate solutions, transferring innovative technology and combining voices to urge negotiators towards a post-Kyoto climate agreement.

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2009)