US Pledges To Make Up For Lost Time In Climate Fight
Date: 28-Apr-09
Country: US
Author: Deborah Zabarenko and Jeff Mason
US Pledges To Make Up For Lost Time In Climate Fight Photo: Larry Downing
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) and Singapore's
Minister of Foreign Affairs George Yeo Yong Boon walk out to pose at the
U.S. State Department in Washington, April 27, 2009.
Photo: Larry Downing
WASHINGTON - The United States gathered China, India and the world's other
top greenhouse gas polluters in Washington on Monday to "make up for lost
time" and lay the groundwork for a UN deal to fight climate change.
The meeting, which US President Barack Obama called last month, groups
countries that produce about 75 percent of the world's greenhouse gas
emissions to find ways to help seal a global warming pact this year.
"The United States is fully engaged and ready to lead and determined to make
up for lost time both at home and abroad," US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton told delegates from 16 major economies as well as the European Union
and the United Nations.
"Climate change is a clear and present danger to our world that demands
immediate attention."
The meeting, held mostly behind closed doors, was meant to foster political
partnership on the climate issue and was not expected to yield specific
agreements.
But delegates did discuss technology during the first part of the two-day
meeting, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), said Dinesh Patnaik, a
member of the Indian delegation.
"It's a long term solution. It's not a short term solution," he said of CCS
technology, which is largely unproven. Participants said the meeting also
confirmed a new US commitment to international climate change diplomacy.
The two-day meeting is meant to pave the way for international talks in
Copenhagen in December to forge a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol,
which limits climate-warming greenhouse emissions and expires in 2012.
Obama's goal is to cut US emissions by about 15 percent by 2020, back to
1990 levels. The European Union and many environmentalists want the United
States to go further.
The major economies forum relaunches a process that began under Obama's
predecessor George W. Bush, whose initiative drew scepticism from
participants out of fear that it would circumvent the UN process.
Bush opposed the Kyoto Protocol, saying it would hurt the US economy and
unfairly exempted fast-growing economies such as China and India.
Obama, who took over in January, said on Monday: "Our future on this planet
depends on our willingness to address the challenge posed by carbon
pollution."
POSITIVE START
Obama, who aims to cut US carbon emissions by more than 80 percent by 2050,
announced a new scientific program called the Advanced Research Projects
Agency for Energy, modelled on the US push to succeed in the 1950s space
race.
Clinton touched on one sticking point in international talks -- the role
that big developing countries should play -- by admitting US mistakes.
"As I have told my counterparts from China and India, we want your economies
to grow ... We just hope we can work together in a way to avoid the mistakes
that we made that have created a large part of the problem," she said.
Italian Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said Clinton's words
"erased all doubts" about the willingness of the Obama administration to
support the climate fight.
She told reporters that China, too, had shown a more positive approach in
the meeting.
"Usually the attitude of China was more the attitude of a country asking for
something," she said. "This time (there) was...a willingness to give a
contribution to the process."
Environmentalists see a US commitment to cut emissions as essential to a
global pact and welcome Obama's desire to lead after what they view as eight
years of lost time under Bush.
But much of Obama's ability to move forward in international talks rests
with the US Congress, where getting support for a domestic climate bill in
the Senate -- which needs 60 votes out 100 to pass a bill -- may be
difficult.
"By working with China and India towards common goals on climate change,
President Obama is sending a clear signal to Congress that his
administration is committed to addressing global warming," Kevin Curtis,
deputy director of the Pew Environment Group, said in a statement.
Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce
Committee said they will postpone this week's planned hearings to modify
existing energy and climate change legislation so panel members can continue
their "productive discussions."
The major economies represented at the meeting include Australia, Brazil,
Britain, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United
States.
(Editing by Vicki Allen)
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