Obama in Copenhagen: Collective Action Hangs In the Balance

It’s here folks — the final day of the 2-week-long Copenhagen climate summit, and U.S. President Obama addressed the delegates (full transcript here) on Friday morning. Obama offered no 11th hour concessions or aces up his sleeve, but essentially reiterated the U.S position on the Copenhagen agreement, including the same U.S. emission reduction targets of 17 percent below 2005 levels, and the newly proposed mobilization of a potential $100 billion fund for developing nations with the condition of China’s transparency.

Obama said that the delegates “ability to take collective action hangs in the balance,” but that he believes “that we can act boldly, and decisively, in the face of this common threat.” He said the pieces of the accord “are now clear,” and include “decisive national actions” from countries to reduce their emissions, a system to verify emissions reductions, and financing for developing countries to adapt. An agreement is not perfect, said Obama but, “no country would get everything that it wants.”

The speech connoted the U.S. position of “take it or leave,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, in a response to Obama’s speech. Others saw Obama’s speech in a more positive light in terms of helping close the gap between the U.S. and China. Mark Kenber, The Climate Group’s International Policy Director, said “By stating that transparency measures shouldn’t be intrusive or impinge on a nation’s sovereignty, Obama helped to narrow the accountability gap between the US and China – one of the key obstacles in securing a deal.”

Obama wasn’t the only leader to give a speech on the final day, and like Obama’s words, other countries’ leaders took the chance to restate their positions. China’s Premier Wen Jiabao (full text of speech here) reiterated to the delegates that China’s emissions reduction target — a plan to cut carbon emissions by 40-45 percent per unit of GDP below 2005 levels by 2020 — is a “voluntary action China has taken in light of its national circumstances,” (rapid industrialization and economic growth).

Some still think that some kind of important deal could be forged in Copenhagen. Mark Kenber, The Climate Group’s International Policy Director, said:

The deal is still there to be had. We’ve seen there’s genuine commitment to an agreement, with countries reiterating their most ambitious national pledges. If these can be brought together, I think a political agreement is possible, perhaps in the next few hours. The dividing issues now appear to be more procedural than substantive.

But to me it’s looking like the leaders are actually very far from breaking any ground and will ultimately present only a very weak deal. While no one expected a binding agreement, countries have not pledged aggressive enough target emissions. The most progress has been made on long term financing and deforestation — so certainty for the path to a green economy and putting a price on carbon doesn’t look much clearer.

Image courtesy of GreenPeace’s COP15 Page Flickr Creative Commons.

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