More US-China Bilaterals
Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
We know Obama met with Wen Jinbao earlier. Apparently there was another with Vice Minister He. The U.S. supposedly pressed hard for a global emissions reduction goal for 2050. China, predictably, wasn’t too keen.
Now Obama is supposed to speak w/ Chinese President Hu Jintao who’s in Beijing (on the phone, I assume), and then going [...]
Updated: Reactions to Obama Speech
Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute of the Center for Biological Diversity, had the following response to President Obama’s speech:
“Obama offered only ultimatums to those countries most impacted by global warming; accept our terms or we will block funding to help you survive the crisis we caused but for which we still refuse [...]
Report on US-China Bilateral
Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
From the White House pool reports:
President Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met for 55 minutes in a room at the Bella Center, and “made progress,” a White House official said. That meeting broke up a little after 1:35 p.m. Copenhagen time.
The official called the discussion “constructive,” and said that the two men touched on [...]
Obama Meeting with Wen
Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
China Daily reports “Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is holding a meeting with US president Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen. The talk will last for about an hour.”
Obama Speech Text Changes
Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
From prepared to delivered, there were some telling changes:
He changed the word “agreement” from his prepared speech to “framework I just outlined,” possibly because of lack of progress in the talks?
Also–this was in the script, but an interesting change from common language: he said “common but differentiated responses” not “responsibilities”? Possibly an effort to allay [...]
Obama’s Speech in Copenhagen
Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
Not his A-game, I’d say. Here it is:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________
_________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2009
Remarks of President Barack Obama—As Prepared for Delivery
Copenhagen Summit
Copenhagen, Denmark
December 18, 2009
Good morning. It’s an honor to for me to join this distinguished group of leaders from nations around the world. We come together here in Copenhagen because [...]
Reactions to Secretary Clinton’s Finance Announcement
Posted on 17. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
The NGO world reacts to Secretary of State Clinton’s finance announcement.
U.S. Displeased with state of LCA text
Posted on 17. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
In the LCA group (now headed up by Hedegaard, if my intel is accurate?!) that ended just now, the US negotiatiors raised some serious concerns about the structure of the document. It’s a summary of a number of things, argued Jonathan Pershing, but there are so many alternative appendices that it’s totally unrealistic to bring [...]
Hillary: U.S. Supports $100B Fund
Posted on 17. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
This strikes me as pretty big news. Secretary of State Clinton just announced that the U.S. would support a $100 billion global fund for mitigation and adaptation, and that the U.S. would pay it’s fair share into this. It would come from a wide variety of sources: public and private, bilateral and multilateral commitments, and [...]
Were America’s Hands in the France-Ethiopia Deal?
Posted on 15. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
My colleague Florent Baarsch, working with the good folks at 350.org, has done some good old-fashioned reporting and turned up some unsavory facts about the new French/Ethiopian proposal that appeared suddenly in the COP15 reality today.
The appeal by France and “Ethiopia, representing Africa” is calling for a so-called “Copenhagen Accord,” and has some good on [...]