Obama's speech this morning
of leaders from nations around the world. We come together here in
Copenhagen because climate change poses a grave and growing danger to
our people. You would not be here unless you - like me - were convinced
that this danger is real. This is not fiction, this is science.
Unchecked, climate change will pose unacceptable risks to our security,
our economies, and our planet. That much we know.
So the question before us is no longer the nature of the challenge - the
question is our capacity to meet it. For while the reality of climate
change is not in doubt, our ability to take collective action hangs in
the balance.
I believe that we can act boldly, and decisively, in the face of this
common threat. And that is why I have come here today.
As the world's largest economy and the world's second largest emitter,
America bears our share of responsibility in addressing climate change,
and we intend to meet that responsibility. That is why we have renewed
our leadership within international climate negotiations, and worked
with other nations to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. And that is why
we have taken bold action at home - by making historic investments in
renewable energy; by putting our people to work increasing efficiency in
our homes and buildings; and by pursuing comprehensive legislation to
transform to a clean energy economy.
These actions are ambitious, and we are taking them not simply to meet
our global responsibilities. We are convinced that changing the way that
we produce and use energy is essential to America's economic future -
that it will create millions of new jobs, power new industry, keep us
competitive, and spark new innovation. And we are convinced that
changing the way we use energy is essential to America's national
security, because it will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and help
us deal with some of the dangers posed by climate change.
So America is going to continue on this course of action no matter what
happens in Copenhagen. But we will all be stronger and safer and more
secure if we act together. That is why it is in our mutual interest to
achieve a global accord in which we agree to take certain steps, and to
hold each other accountable for our commitments.
After months of talk, and two weeks of negotiations, I believe that the
pieces of that accord are now clear.
First, all major economies must put forward decisive national actions
that will reduce their emissions, and begin to turn the corner on
climate change. I'm pleased that many of us have already done so, and
I'm confident that America will fulfill the commitments that we have
made: cutting our emissions in the range of 17 percent by 2020, and by
more than 80 percent by 2050 in line with final legislation.
Second, we must have a mechanism to review whether we are keeping our
commitments, and to exchange this information in a transparent manner.
These measures need not be intrusive, or infringe upon sovereignty. They
must, however, ensure that an accord is credible, and that we are living
up to our obligations. For without such accountability, any agreement
would be empty words on a page.
Third, we must have financing that helps developing countries adapt,
particularly the least-developed and most vulnerable to climate change.
America will be a part of fast-start funding that will ramp up to $10
billion in 2012. And, yesterday, Secretary Clinton made it clear that we
will engage in a global effort to mobilize $100 billion in financing by
2020, if - and only if - it is part of the broader accord that I have
just described.
Mitigation. Transparency. And financing. It is a clear formula - one
that embraces the principle of common but differentiated responses and
respective capabilities. And it adds up to a significant accord - one
that takes us farther than we have ever gone before as an international
community.
The question is whether we will move forward together, or split apart.
This is not a perfect agreement, and no country would get everything
that it wants. There are those developing countries that want aid with
no strings attached, and who think that the most advanced nations should
pay a higher price. And there are those advanced nations who think that
developing countries cannot absorb this assistance, or that the world's
fastest-growing emitters should bear a greater share of the burden.
We know the fault lines because we've been imprisoned by them for years.
But here is the bottom line: we can embrace this accord, take a
substantial step forward, and continue to refine it and build upon its
foundation. We can do that, and everyone who is in this room will be a
part of an historic endeavor - one that makes life better for our
children and grandchildren.
Or we can again choose delay, falling back into the same divisions that
have stood in the way of action for years. And we will be back having
the same stale arguments month after month, year after year - all while
the danger of climate change grows until it is irreversible.
There is no time to waste. America has made our choice. We have charted
our course, we have made our commitments, and we will do what we say.
Now, I believe that it's time for the nations and people of the world to
come together behind a common purpose.
We must choose action over inaction; the future over the past - with
courage and faith, let us meet our responsibility to our people, and to
the future of our planet. Thank you."
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