By Daniel Ten Kate,Bloomberg
Obama has made big promises on climate change to the World
U.S. President Barack Obama faces “more than an embarrassment” should his nation fail to lead international negotiations to complete a new climate-protection treaty by December,a senior European climate negotiator said.
Obama’s scope is limited because the U.S. Congress may not approve a domestic law to control emissions before the December deadline for signing an international climate accord in Copenhagen,Karl Falkenberg,director-general for environment at the European Union’s executive body,said in an interview.
“Obama and his administration are very committed,and it will be more than an embarrassment for them if at Copenhagen they would have to admit they are not ready,” Falkenberg said late last night in Bangkok,where more than 180 nations are meeting for talks. “We can just help,but helping them also means directly telling them that the world has an expectation.”