白宮25日宣佈，美國總統歐巴馬將於12月9日前往哥本哈根，出席本屆的聯合國氣候變遷會議。
這將是歐巴馬首次定出美國減量目標的實質數字。白宮表示，2020年減量目標將較2005年排放量減少約17%，最終目標也將符合美國能源氣候法案。
白宮指出，為了達成歐巴馬2050年減少83%排放的目標，這份仍在國會中討論的氣候法案定訂出於2025年達成較2005年減少30%、並於2030年達成較2005年減少42%排放量的進程。
白宮表示，歐巴馬將與國會合作，儘快通過能源氣候法案。今年6月眾議院通過《美國清潔能源安全法案》，參議院將於明年春天審議氣候法案。
白宮表示，提出17%減量目標是「考慮到哥本哈根的整體協議，當中也包含中國與其他開發中國家的實質減量貢獻」。
八大工業國及其他經濟體已同意，將致力於防止全球增溫至危險程度；也就是維持比工業革命增溫2度，或比現今增溫1.2度的限度。科學研究發現，若要阻止地球升溫至危險程度，溫室氣體的排放高峰須出現在2020年，其後應逐漸減少，並於2050年較1990年排放量減少5成。
美國最新公布的「17%減量目標」比其他國家提出的目標要來的低。歐盟提出的目標為20%，並表示若其他國家願意提高減量程度，他們可將目標提高為30%。日本宣布2020年減量目標為25%，但上個月日本表示，若哥本哈根會談無法達成全球氣候協議，該國可能撤回已宣布的減量目標。
上周五俄國總統梅德維捷夫於「歐俄高峰會」時提到，俄國可將2020年減量目標由較1990年排放量減少10%-15%，提升至減少 22%～25%。歐巴馬與訪美的印度首相辛哈昨日共同承諾將實施「顯著的減量行動」。上周歐巴馬訪中時，中國國家主席胡錦濤也立下相同承諾。然而中印兩國皆未提出實際的減量目標數字。
President Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen on December 9 to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the White House announced today.
For the first time, President Obama has given a numerical figure for a U.S. greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. It will be "in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020 and ultimately in line with final U.S. energy and climate legislation," the White House said.
In view of the President goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 83 percent by 2050, the expected pathway set forth in this pending legislation would entail a 30 percent reduction below 2005 levels in 2025 and a 42 percent reduction below 2005 in 2030, said the White House.
The President is working closely with Congress to pass energy and climate legislation as soon as possible, the White House said. The House passed its version of a climate bill in June. The Senate will consider its bill in the spring.
The White House qualified the 17 percent emissions reduction target by saying that it is tabled, "in the context of an overall deal in Copenhagen that includes robust mitigation contributions from China and the other emerging economies."
The G8 nations and major economies have agreed to attempt to prevent global warming from reaching dangerous levels of more than 2 celsius above the pre-industrial temperature, or around 1.2 above today's level. Scientific evidence shows that this requires global emissions of greenhouse gases to peak before 2020 and then be cut by at least 50 percent of their 1990 levels by 2050.
The newly announced U.S. 17 percent target is lower than those announced by other governments. The European Union has pegged its target at 20 percent and said that could be raised to 30 percent if other nations go higher too. Japan has announced the goal of cutting emissions 25 percent by 2020 but said last month it could back away from that goal if an international climate change deal at Copenhagen is not achieved.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told an EU-Russian summit Friday that Russia would increase its emission reduction target for 2020 from a 10-to-15 percent cut below 1990 levels to a 22-to-25 percent cut.
President Obama and visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, yesterday both committed to "significant mitigation actions," in other words, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, at Copenhagen. Last week while visiting Beijing, President Obama and China's President Hu Jintao announced the same commitment. Niether India nor China has announced a numerical greenhouse gas reductions target.
全文及圖片詳見：ENS
作者
In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
