Barack Obama to renew US climate change commitment at UN summit

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 September 2009 23.28 BST
Barack Obama will renew his commitment to green America's economy and join international action on global warming in a speech to the United Nations climate change summit on Tuesday.
The appearance is a chance to offer much needed assurances to nearly 100 world leaders that the president can deliver on his promise for early action on climate change – now that the issue has taken second place to health care in the Senate.
The delay has added to uncertainty that the Senate will move forward on a bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions before the crucial climate change summit at Copenhagen in December.
The house of representatives narrowly passed a climate change bill last June that would cut emissions by about 6% below 1990 levels, and the Obama administration has used its powers to cut car emissions and encourage the creation of green jobs.
But negotiators fear the low target and the delay on moving the bill forward give the emerging big polluters – India and China – a convenient excuse to avoid firm commitments on reducing their own emissions.
Do not expect any bold action from Obama on Tuesday – either on a target for cutting US emissions or the other big issue in the way of a Copenhagen deal: climate finance. Poor countries are frustrated that the US and other industrialised states have not been clear on aid to help the developing world cope with rising sea levels and extreme temperatures of climate change – the other big issue in the way of a Copenhagen deal.
Coming out too strong – especially in an international forum – could provoke a backlash that would make it even harder for Obama to carry out his green agenda.