As International Pressure Mounts, Obama Sets U.S. Emissions Reduction Target for 2020

Graphic courtesy of webwombat.com.

Possibly resulting from ongoing criticisms from the international community, most notably from members of the European Union, the United States has finally set an emissions reduction target for 2020.

The White House has both confirmed that President Barack Obama will be attending United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on Dec. 9, and that the U.S. will work to reduce emissions to “17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020.”

While hopes for a large-scale binding climate change agreement in Copenhagen seen to be fading with the U.S. Congress having yet to pass a climate bill, and other major industrialized countries refusing to make firm commitments of their own, there is a bright spot in that attention is being drawn to the issue, and smaller scale partnerships are beginning to take shape.

Last week, Obama and India’s Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh agreed to launch a Clean Energy and Climate Initiative. It will include cooperation between the two countries in the areas of “wind and solar energy, second generation bio-fuels, unconventional gas, energy efficiency, and clean coal technologies, including carbon capture and storage.”

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Major Industrial Nations Criticized for Setting Weak Emissions Reductions Goals

Image courtesy of GreenRoofOffsets.co.uk.

As the world approaches the much anticipated Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month, European environmental leaders are expressing disappointment with countries such as the United States, Canada, Ukraine, and Russia.

“If industrialized countries are unwilling to do their bit, we can’t expect others to do theirs. We are calling upon developing countries to follow the European example in reducing emissions by pledging to cut them by 30 percent by 2020,” said Environmental Commissioner Stavros Dimas to the members of the European Parliament in an address earlier this week, discussing anticipated challenges in Copenhagen.

Mr. Dimas highlighted the following three major challenges that he expects will arise during the conference.

• How to lower emissions in industrialized economies.
• How to guarantee that developing countries accept ambitious goals for emissions reductions.
• Where to find the necessary funding to help developing countries meet the targets.

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