Obama Arrives in Copenhagen for Climate Summit
US President Barack Obama has joined other world leaders in Copenhagen to take part in final day of talks at the climate change summit.
Negotiators are struggling to prepare a draft for the agreement after deep divisions between rich and poor nations over the criterion of cutting carbon gas emissions.
According to media reports, the text of a draft agreement, which could change, does not mention deep emissions-cutting targets for industrialized nations, falling well short of the goal of a legally binding pact.
Reports said that the climate pact is expected to call for holding global temperatures from going beyond 2 degree Celsius. Small island nations, which are worried about rising seas, have called for a cap of at 1.5 degrees.
American refusal to propose deeper cuts in green house gas emissions and China’s denial to allow verification of its emission cuts are the two biggest hindrances to an agreement.
President Obama will meet his counterparts from Brazil, China, Denmark and Russia on the sidelines of the summit, said the White House.
On Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had said that the climate conference is one of the most complex and difficult processes imaginable.
However, with time fastly running out, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama would rather see Copenhagen end with no deal instead of a bad one.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Thursday that the United States would help launch a $100 billion annual fund to help developing nations cope with such consequences of global warming as rising sea levels.
But she said that the US offer hinges on whether those countries cut emissions and allow verification.
