Obama Switches His Copenhagen Date to Join Other World Leaders

White Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today, "Based on his conversations with other leaders and the progress that has already been made to give momentum to negotiations, the President believes that continued U.S. leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference on December 18th rather than on December 9th."

The High-level segment of the Copenhagen conference opens on December 16 and continues through the next day with national statements. Finally, on December 18, the agreed outcome of all deliberations will be adopted by heads of state and government and other heads of delegation.

"There are still outstanding issues that must be negotiated for an agreement to be reached," said Gibbs, "but this decision reflects the President's commitment to doing all that he can to pursue a positive outcome."

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, left, meets with President Barack Obama at The White House. November 30, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza courtesy The White House)

This week, President Obama discussed the status of the negotiations with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and UK Prime Minister Gordeon Brown and concluded that there is an emerging consensus that a core element of the Copenhagen accord should be to mobilize $10 billion a year by 2012 to support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable and least developed countries that could be destabilized by the impacts of climate change.

This proposal by Prime Minister Brown has won the approval of United Nations negotiators.

Gibbs said, "The United States will pay its fair share of that amount and other countries will make substantial commitments as well."

"In Copenhagen, we also need to address the need for financing in the longer term to support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries," said Gibbs. "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 wealthy countries have been under pressure from the developing countries for financial help to meet the costs of converting from energy derived from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, which emit greenhouse gases to renewable, cleaner energy sources.

The UN Environment Programme estimates that a total of 38 billion tons of greenhouse gases are emitted every year. The Copenhagen meeting will attempt to limit these heat-trapping gases after the end of 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period expires.

Gibbs said that after months of diplomatic activity, "there is progress being made towards a meaningful Copenhagen accord" in which all countries pledge to take action to fight climate change.

Progress occurred when, following bilateral meetings with the President, China and India for the first time set targets to reduce their carbon intensity, said Gibbs.

Carbon intensity is not a direct reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions produced to Gross Domestic Product.

This measure is different from the direct emissions cuts offered by the United States and other developed countries.

On November 25, President Obama announced that the United States would aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions "in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020 and ultimately in line with final U.S. energy and climate legislation."

In June, the House of Representatives passed a bill setting a 17 percent emissions reduction target to be achieved by a market-based cap-and-trade system. The Senate has put off debate on its version of a climate bill until next spring.

There has also been progress in advancing the Danish proposal for an immediate, operational accord that covers all of the issues under negotiation, including the endorsement of key elements of this approach by the 53 countries represented at the Commonwealth Summit last weekend, Gibbs said.

The United States will have representation in Copenhagen throughout the negotiating process by State Department negotiators and Cabinet officials who will highlight what the Obama Administration has done this year to create a clean energy economy.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.