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Obama to attend climate meet, unveil new target

Washington: Buoyed by his talks with India and China on climate change, U.S. President Barack Obama will attend crucial negotiations in Copenhagen where he will promise sizable reductions in U.S. carbon emissions, giving new hope for a global deal on reducing greenhouse gases.

The United States will reduce its emissions “in the range of” 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 per cent by 2050, Obama administration officials said, giving the world the clearest blueprint yet of U.S. strategies to cut back heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

White House officials said that the decisions stemmed in part from recent discussions between Mr. Obama and the leaders of India and China, two developing nations whose participation is seen as crucial to any successful negotiation.

Those discussions left the President optimistic that his presence in Copenhagen could seal a meaningful — though not legally binding — climate deal, meeting the standard that Mr. Obama previously set for his attendance at the summit, the Los Angles Times quoted officials as saying.

Mr. Obama said that it was essential that all countries do what is necessary to reach a strong operational agreement that will confront the threat of climate change while serving as a stepping stone to a legally binding treaty.

Mr. Obama will address negotiators on December 9, shortly after the opening of the two-week summit, on his way to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in nearby Oslo.

The 17 per cent reduction range is in line with a climate bill that passed the House in June and is pending in the Senate. — PTI

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