President Obama launched the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change , to facilitate candid dialogue among key developed and developing countries regarding efforts to advance clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions . For the new forum , President Obama invited the leaders of 16 major economies and the Secretary General of the United Nations to designate representatives to participate in a preparatory session at the U.S. Department of State that occurred on April 27 – 28 in Washington , D.C . This and other preparatory sessions culminated in a 17-nation MEF meeting , as part of the 35th G8 summit which Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi agreed to host in La Maddalena , Italy in July 2009 . The G8 summit was subsequently moved to L'Aquila , Italy , as part of an attempt to redistribute disaster funds after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake . The forum took place on July 9 , 2009
35th G8 summit
35th G8 summit
White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy