(CNSNews.com) - Governors from across the United States are meeting at Yale University this week to discuss ways of dealing with global climate change.

The gathering -- on April 17 and 18 -- will celebrate the centennial of President Theodore Roosevelt's 1908 Conference of Governors, which launched the modern conservation movement, planted the seed for the National Parks System, and inspired significant state efforts to protect land, Yale said in a press release announcing the conference.

Participants -- including Govs. Jodi Rell (R-Conn.), Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.), Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kan.) -- will "confront the present climate challenge, and set out a vision of a federal-state partnership for future action," Yale announced.

Yale said the governors will meet privately for "high-level discussions on climate change," then address the general public during a session on April 18th. They'll "exchange ideas and chart a forward path on state, national, and international action."

The governors also are expected to sign a "climate change declaration" on state and federal policy-making. "This is particularly timely as the United States prepares for new leadership at the federal level, Yale said. The three leading presidential hopefuls have pledged to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

"Roosevelt showed remarkable foresight a century ago in engaging the states' chief executive officers to preserve and protect the nation's natural resources," said Yale President Richard C. Levin. "Now, we face a new and critical challenge -- global climate change -- and leadership in the United States is coming from visionary state governors."

The conference is being sponsored by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, which describes itself as one of the country's leading environmental schools. The school's dean, Gus Speth, is a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He formerly worked for the United Nations Development Programme and chaired the U.N. Development Group.

"Yale University's storied history, political neutrality, analytical rigor, and tradition of innovative thinking promises the ideal setting for this exciting and groundbreaking event," Yale said. The school says it is "uniquely positioned to offer a neutral, non-partisan forum for discussion."

Nobel Laureate Dr. R. K. Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will address the gathering, as will several former EPA administrators, including Christine Todd Whitman and Carol Browner. Theodore Roosevelt IV will speak about the legacy of his great-grandfather.

The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies was founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot, President Roosevelt's friend, advisor, and founder of the U.S. Forest Service. Pinchot organized Roosevelt's 1908 Conference of Governors, from which this week's gathering draws its inspiration.

At a 2005 conference on climate change, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies came up with 39 "recommendations for action."

They include recognizing climate change as an urgent and moral issue; expanding religious coalitions on the environment; establishing religious outreach efforts on climate change; and recasting climate change as a moral and faith issue.

In February, Yale announced that it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent since 2005, and it is aiming for more drastic reductions by 2020, through a mix of conservation measures, renewable energy, and participation in carbon offset projects.

Yale says its own greenhouse gas reduction target is comparable to the reduction needed globally to keep temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees centigrade.

See Earlier Stories:
Natural Forces, Not Man, Causing Global Warming, Scientist Says (March 5, 2008)
Sun, Not Man, Main Cause of Climate Change, New Study Says (Dec. 11, 2007)
Climate Scientist Survey Reveals Little Consensus (Nov. 15, 2007)