One of the biggest points of contention in the United Nations summit on climate change that will soon take place in Copenhagen was how involved the United States would be. Many have feared that the United States would not take the talks seriously, which would likely lead to the world being unable to come up with a resolution involving carbon emissions. The United States is crucial in these talks for many reasons, not only is the U.S. one of the world’s worst polluters, but the country has been used as an excuse for developing nations like China and India to stall on promises to cut emissions. That is why President Obama’s recent announcement of the United States’ plan to cut emissions is big news for the summit, about which many are starting to feel more optimistic.
According to Carol Browner, who is President Obama’s top adviser on environmental and energy issues, the President will offer to cut emissions in the United States by seventeen percent over the next decade. This will mark the first time that the United States has offered to make such cuts. This is a major development for the summit, as developing nations like India and China have refused to make cuts until the United States does the same, which makes many believe this announcement is the first step in what could be a binding resolution over worldwide carbon emissions.
It has long been the view of developing nations that richer nations should help shoulder the financial burden of the massive changes in infrastructure that will be needed to get third world countries up to speed on emissions.
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