Bill Clinton took the stage on time at the Fortune Magazine Brainstorm Green conference at the Ritz Carlton in Dana Point.

“It’s the great thing about not being in office anymore, you can say anything you want. Of course, nobody cares what you have to say anymore,” he began, prompting a wave of laughter.

Clinton spoke of the widespread sense of urgency about global warming, the current financial crisis, impending expiration of Kyoto accord, and an important conference in Copenhagen in December.

“There is the fact that we now have after years of hostility in Washington a president committed to enacting meaningful climate change legislation.”

He remembers trying to get agreement on Kyoto in 1998.

“Finally I told Al Gore he would have to go in order to close an agreement.”

The U.S. Senate voted against it 98 to nothing before Al Gore even got off the airplane, he said.

“We are going to get out of the current financial crunch. Most people want to know when. I always give the same answer … Nov. 8 at 3:30 in the afternoon, to point out the absurdity of saying that.”

“I think we’ll come out of this. I think the stimulus package adopted by the United States, and the much bigger ones adopted by China … I think the financial reforms will help.”

“The real question is, what kind of shape will we be in when the current crisis passes? After all, we’re doing all this on borrowed money.”

 ”It’s to change the way we produce and consume energy. It’s the only way … to minimize the damage that will almost certainly come because of climate change.

“The most important thing to me … the most important thing you can do … is to prove that the transformation we are all committed to be undertaking is, or can be made to be, good economics. That will do more than anything else to give the United States a good climate bill.”

Note: We will be updating this talk live. Tune back for more on Clinton’s talk.

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