US to present emissions target at Copenhagen

The United States will present an emissions target at upcoming UN climate change talks in Copenhagen, a senior official said Monday, as President Barack Obama mulled whether to attend the conference.

Smoke rises from an incineration plant in Amsterdam. The United States plans to join other developed nations in presenting an emissions target at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, a senior administration official said Monday.

The official refused to be drawn on what that target would be but indicated that Obama would announce it in the next few days along with a decision on whether he will fly to the Danish capital to give added impetus to proceedings.

Sixty-five leaders, including from Germany, France and Brazil, have already committed to participating in the meeting, which seeks a global treaty on tackling climate change to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

As the leader of one of the world's two biggest polluters, Obama is under considerable pressure from US allies to attend the conference and show flexibility on new emission targets.

"Countries will need to put on the table what they are willing to do on emissions," a senior official from his administration told journalists.

"I am not going to make an announcement here what that's going to be, but I think over the next several days that should be able to become more clear in terms of what the US might be able to do."

Any US emissions target proposed in Copenhagen must be realistic in terms of what can be achieved legislatively.

The US Senate delayed last week legislation on climate change until early 2010, confirming that a bill will not be adopted in time for Copenhagen.

A US House of Representatives bill, passed in June, calls for cutting US greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent by 2050. The Senate's slightly more ambitious bill calls for a 20-percent cut by 2020.

"We're cognizant of what has passed the House, we're in close touch with what is being worked on in the Senate and we'll try and craft a submission that reflects where we think we can come out," the US official said.

"We expect that a decision will be made in the coming days."

In Europe, green groups said a US emissions target would be a step forward in the negotiations process. The two-year UN haggle leading up to the Copenhagen conference has been hamstrung by what the world's No. 2 polluter and wealthiest country will propose.

But, they said, the big question was how far the United States planned to trim its carbon output and over what timeframe -- and whether this met scientific criteria for tackling global warming.

"Getting clarity from the US on what their commitment is going to be is going to be crucially important," WWF's Kim Carstensen told AFP.

"It's welcome that we get a confirmation from the US that we are going to get numbers. What is needed is both clarity (on emissions targets) in an international setting and what we can expect in terms of contribution on climate finance in developing countries."

The Obama administration official said it would be "a mistake to conclude" if no concrete deal is achieved in Copenhagen that it is simply due to the delay in the US legislative effort.

No meaningful treaty can come unless major developing nations such as China and India also produced meaningful submissions, he said, while accepting: "The US clearly has to do its part."

The pressure on Obama was renewed Monday, as European Union environment ministers met in Brussels, with UN climate chief Yvo de Boer encouraging the United States to put forward concrete proposals.

De Boer expressed confidence, saying: "My sense is Obama will be in a position to come to Copenhagen with a target and a financial contribution."

The UN climate chief has already ruled out the possibility that a comprehensive treaty can be reached in Copenhagen.

The lesser deal he anticipates is likely to include "a list of rich country targets (and) clarity on what major developing countries like India and China are willing to do," he said on Monday.

Obama, who is already scheduled to be close to Copenhagen on December 10, when he will visit nearby Oslo to receive his Nobel Peace Prize, is still undecided on whether to attend.

"If it looks as though the negotiations have proceeded sufficiently that going to Copenhagen would give a final impetus, a push, to the process," then he will go, the administration official said.

"We are in close touch with the Danes as to how they see those two weeks proceeding and how an appearance by the president might be helpful to the negotiations."

The United States was the world's biggest carbon emitter until it was overtaken by China in 2006, according to the Global Carbon Project, a consortium of leading climate scientists.