Obama confirms Copenhagen presence
US president to arrive in Copenhagen earlier than expected for climate summit but he won’t stay for long
By Katie Rice
US President Barack Obama is coming back to town for the UN Climate Change Conference, but while the news has been welcomed by politicians, NGO’s have criticised his choice of date.
The White House announced that the president will fly into Copenhagen on 9 December to participate in the conference, which starts 7 December and runs until 18 December.
The statement adds that Obama is willing to contribute to the negotiations by confirming his country’s willingness to reduce carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 30 percent by 2025 and 42 percent by 2030.
Legislation allowing for the targets to be achieved is currently before Congress.
Most heads of state and government are flying into Copenhagen at the end of the two-week conference, but Obama is arriving early as he is due to fly to Oslo on 10 December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen welcomed the confirmation of Obama’s attendance at the COP15 conference.
‘The visit underlines the president’s will to contribute to an ambitious global agreement in Copenhagen,’ Rasmussen said.
Greenpeace spokeswoman Tove Maria Ryding said in a statement that ‘it’s the right city, but the wrong date’.
‘The climate summit is not about posing for the cameras but about getting a global deal which can stop climate chaos. President Obama needs to be here on 18 December together with all the other world leaders,’ Ryding said.
Her sentiment was echoed by World Wildlife Fund climate spokesman John Nordbo, who said the choice of date indicated Obama was not coming to make an agreement.
‘He’s coming to lay down a line that others will then have to respond to. But it won’t be anything that resembles a flexible mandate for his negotiators,’ Nordbo said.
The US is also sending four cabinet secretaries, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency and two high-level climate and environment advisors as part of its delegation for the talks in Copenhagen.
Meanwhile, China’s prime minister Wen Jiabao participation in the summit has been confirmed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Many had hoped the more powerful president, Hu Jintao, would come.
Spokesman for Greenpeace in China, Yang Ailun, said his organisation was disappointed because the president was more able to make decisions in the final negotiations.
