Obama Administration Raising Expectations on Copenhagen Talks

The international communiqué between the U.S. and China included a passage that said the Obama administration expected to offer meaningful emission-reduction targets at the U.N.-led international climate change meeting scheduled for Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, the Washington Post reported today. The Post said the declaration by President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao carried the buried clause and another indication that the U.S. was hopeful of prompt congressional action.

Wrote the Post: "This past weekend, the Obama administration endorsed a Danish proposal to settle for a political accord on global warming in Copenhagen next month, while deferring to 2010 the codification of a legally binding international treaty. According to the joint declaration, "an agreed outcome at Copenhagen should ... include emission reduction targets of developed countries and nationally appropriate mitigation actions of developing countries."

Michael Levi, a senior fellow on environmental and energy issues at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the U.S.-China declaration "has moved expectations up a bit for Copenhagen." The Associated Press, however, quoted Ailun Yang, climate campaign manager for Greenpeace China, as saying the communiqué was positive, "but it leaves a lot of room for different interpretations, ranging from a real ambitious climate rescue deal to another meaningless declaration. The real test is still at Copenhagen."

- Related article also appeared in USA Today's blog.