Obama coming to the UN climate party early and empty

It’s official Obama is coming to Copenhagen. He will attend the UN Climate negotiations happening 2 weeks from now. However, this announcement reads like Obama coming to a pot-luck party early before anyone else is there, and forgetting to bringing a dish. His timing is well… not exceptional, and even more disturbing is officially seeing the carbon reduction numbers he will be touting as “leadership” in Copenhagen.

First the date, 12/9:

It’s looking like Obama is going to swing into Copenhagen for the UN climate negotiations on December 9^th on his away to Oslo to retrieve his Nobel prize. What’s the first thing I thought when I saw the date of Obama’s visit?

I was glad he could squeeze the most important meetings since WWII into his schedule. Unfortunately it seems likely that we are to get nothing more than a rally speech from Obama, as he is swinging in on the third day of a two-week process. Most head’s of state are committing to attending the last couple days of the conference to spur along the final hours of the negotiations.

I’m happy to see Obama commit to coming to Copenhagen (maybe he’ll bring Oprah again), and I do feel it has the potential to be productive; hell it has to be productive. Yet, I fear that all we’re going to get is a great rally-cry speech and the potential to two days of negotiations right at the beginning of the conference due to of all the incredible security, sweeps, and hoopla that comes to town when the big O comes around.

I’m happy the US President is coming; I just question the intention and the timing. It doesn’t take a genius (I’m a perfect example) to see attending the end on the UNFCCC negotiation would be much more effective.

Second the numbers 17% by 2020:

We were all expecting emission reduction numbers from the US of around 17% of 2005 levels, so it’s no surprise to see those numbers coming from the White House (using 1990 terms like most all other countries this equates to a 4% reduction, just a hair shy of the 40% we [the world] need.)

These numbers are the ones being thrown around in Congress all year. Other countries such as Brazil, Maldives, France, you name it, have announced bigger cuts than the US. Now to be clear, that’s not saying a lot, as many of these country’s commitments are far from what science deems necessary. What this does comparatively say is the Obama and his administration have now changed their mandate from hope and possibility, to hype and procrastination.

Prove me wrong Obama. The world’s at stake it’s time you act like it, because if you don’t you have to answer to my generation and every other one that follows.

About Nick

Nick Magel is not a fan of oil companies (or any fossil fuel for that matter). He's fortunate to have worked with folks that hold similar views while Communications Manager at Amazon Watch in San Francisco. Prior to that Nick served as Director of the Freedom from Oil campaign at Global Exchange. Nick went to graduate school at the Audubon Expedition Institute where he focused on radicalizing education models while developing a deeper application of critical and feminist pedagogies in environmental education.

3 Responses to “Obama coming to the UN climate party early and empty”

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1 Morgan Nov 26th, 2009 at 1:47 pm

Great that he’s going.

1) will any other heads of state be there that early? Or will the Big O just give a speech to all the delegates and sign some autographs?

2) Is there any chance he’d come back at the end? This announcement seems to make an appearance at the end to ’seal the deal’ virtually impossible (grrr)
2 Morgan Nov 27th, 2009 at 2:39 pm

Highly recommend this post on the Daily Beast:

Beyond the photo ops and press statements, Obama was pushing President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the kind of climate deals that eluded him at the G8 summit in Italy in the summer – and have eluded international negotiators for the last decade. China and India have played central roles in blocking past agreements, alongside the US, in a seemingly intractable dispute between fast-developing economies and the older, wealthier polluters.

And this specifically on speculation about returning for a seal-the-deal appearance at the end:

By leaving early, Obama has drawn some European criticism since he will not be present for the later-stage arm-twisting that could be decisive in reaching an international agreement. Yet that scheduling decision also avoids any potential embarrassment in case Copenhagen ends up with no agreement whatsoever – a possible repeat of the Olympics fiasco. Speculation has already surfaced that the President might jet back to Copenhagen if a deal is within reach a week later. “Let’s hope there’s good karma in Copenhagen this time,” says one White House official.
3 Nick Magel Nov 28th, 2009 at 12:33 pm

Right on Morgan, you called that one.
I’d love to see Obama come back near the end of the conference. It looks like right now only China’s Prime minister will be there as early, but that could always change (we’ve seen how world leaders love their Obama photo-op . It is encouraging to see the Administration’s entire energy team like Energy Secretary Steven Chu, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and climate change czar Carol Browner staying for the whole conference. However just as discouraging is seeing Duke Energy endorse Obama’s climate goals. An unfortunate indicator of their strength.