US President Obama agrees to attend Copenhagen talks

7 December 2009

Following months of doubt, US President Barack Obama has agreed to participate in the climate conference in Copenhagen this month.

Following bilateral meetings with the US, China and India have set targets to reduce their carbon intensity. There has also been progress in advancing the Danish proposal for an operational accord that covers all of the issues under negotiation, including the elements discussed by the 53 countries represented at the Commonwealth Summit last weekend.

The US President, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian President Nicolas Sarkozy and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown have concluded that a core element of the Copenhagen accord should be to mobilise $10bn a year by 2012 to support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, according to a statement from the White House.

The US Press Secretary on the UN climate change conference said, ‘The need for financing in the longer term to support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries will also be negotiated at the conference. Providing this assistance is not only a humanitarian imperative – it’s an investment in our common security, as no climate change accord can succeed if it does not help all countries reduce their emissions.’

The President intends to participate at the end of the Copenhagen conference on 18 December rather than at the start of the conference on 9 December; however, the US will be represented in his absence by state department negotiators and cabinet officials.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: policy

This story was published on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 11:46 am and is filed under Europe, North America, energy efficiency, policy. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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