The White House has announced that President Obama will travel to Copenhagen on December 9th to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference where he is reportedly ready to work towards a comprehensive and operational Copenhagen accord.
Obama’s decision to go is seen as a sign of his commitment to finding a global solution to the universal threat of climate change. However, are the American targets good enough?
Obama is going to be offering a U.S. emissions reduction target in the range of 17% below 2005 levels in 2020 according to a White House press release. American emission reduction targets are outlined as 83% by 2050; the expected pathway set forth in this pending legislation would entail a 30% reduction below 2005 levels in 2025 and a 42% reduction below 2005 in 2030.
Are these targets enough – not really, especially since the base year is taken to be 2005. According to the official US government Energy Information Administration, America’s CO2 emissions increased from 5 billion to 6 billion metric tons, a 20% increase since Kyoto. It is also not clear on the rate of reduction between years, is it a linear reduction every year or a desperate scramble for larger reductions nearer the 2020, 2025, 2030 and 2050 target years?
The USA will have a strong showing at Copenhagen with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley all in attendance.
Via The White House
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