PITTSBURGH — On the eve of a summit of 20 of the world’s top economies, the Obama administration pressed leaders Wednesday to overcome differences and work together more closely in confronting thorny financial and environmental problems.
“We simply cannot walk away from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and not do everything in our power to reform the system that contributed to this breakdown,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a congressional panel in Washington.
President Barack Obama, delivering his first speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, urged world leaders to join him in confronting an abundance of global challenges.
“Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world’s problems alone,” he said.
Obama was to arrive in Pittsburgh this afternoon.
Leaders gathering for the Group of 20 summit face daunting challenges in overcoming differences on major issues such as restraining bankers’ bonuses, overhauling financial regulation and plotting a course for sustainable growth as the worst of the downturn appears to be over.
Police said 14 members of the environmental group Greenpeace were arrested on two bridges. They faced various charges, including possession of an instrument of a crime, disorderly conduct, conspiracy and obstruction.
Obama signaled he will use the summit, which ends Friday, to call for a gradual end to extensive government subsidies that encourage the use of fossil fuels, which are blamed for contributing to global warming.
