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US says carbon shift is boost to Copenhagen
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United States said it had seized the climate initiative with a regulatory shift that labels greenhouse gases a dangerous pollutant, as a landmark conference entered a second day Tuesday.The shift by the Environmental Protection Agency was announced on the opening day of a 192-nation meeting in Copenhagen aimed at drawing up a global pact to tackle climate change amid warnings of environmental catastrophe. The U.S. move "means that we arrive at the climate talks in Copenhagen with a clear demonstration of our commitment to facing this global challenge," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said. Jackson signed orders declaring six greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, including carbon dioxide, to be pollutants that are subject to government regulation. The decision sidestepped a divided Congress and was greeted with outrage by Republicans and some U.S. business leaders. But delegates to the talks in Copenhagen said it would lend momentum to the 12-day conference. "It will only help to persuade delegates and observers from other countries that the U.S. is seriously using all the tools it has," said David Doniger, policy director of the National Resources Defense Council's climate center. "The administration has the task of persuading other countries that it is seriously tackling this issue at a time when the legislation is still working its way through Congress," he said in the Danish capital. France's climate ambassador Brice Lalonde said: "This gives additional credibility to the U.S. commitment." The impact on humanity of man-made drought, flood, storms and rising seas was spelt out Monday at the start of the meeting, which will climax with a summit attended by more than 110 leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama. "For the next two weeks, Copenhagen will be Hopenhagen," Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said. "By the end, we must be able to deliver back to the world what was granted us here today: hope for a better future," he said. Posted by: Fred 2009-12-09 |
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