On Monday, US President Barack Obama told Reuters he would travel to Copenhagen in December, if his presence would help international climate change negotiations succeed.
The U.S. is the only developed nation that has not yet officially announced a midterm emissions reduction target for 2020. It now seems likely that Obama will appear in Copenhagen to announce a US commitment–however, such a pledge would have to be ratified by the U.S. Congress.
"If I am confident that all of the countries involved are bargaining in good faith and we are on the brink of a meaningful agreement and my presence in Copenhagen will make a difference in tipping us over edge then certainly that’s something that I will do," Obama told Reuters.
The Obama administration has previously suggested a target of 14% below 2005 levels–roughly equivalent to a return to 1990 levels (the baseline used by the Kyoto Protocol). The U.S. House passed a climate change bill including a targe of 17% below 2005 levels and the Senate is considering a bill with a 20% target.
Jonathan Pershing, the lead US negotiator at the Barcelona talks earlier this month, also indicated Obama would announce a provisional target a Copenhagen.
Yvo de Boer, the UN’s climate secretary, said the Copenhagen summit would not succeed if Obama failed to announce a target.
Obama also has been under pressure from environmental groups to attend Copenhagen, yet he is in a perilous political situation with only weak support for climate change legislation in the US Senate. The world is looking for a robust commitment from the US, but if Obama promises too much legislators are likely to leave him hanging.
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