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24 Nov 2009: Obama Administration to Offer
Emissions Reduction Targets at Talks

Obama administration officials say they will offer provisional CO2 emissions reductions goals at the upcoming Copenhagen climate conference, although the targets are likely to be far more modest than those proposed by the European Union and other industrialized nations. U.S. officials, not wanting to show up at Copenhagen empty-handed, said the administration will propose U.S. emissions cuts roughly in line with those being considered in legislation before Congress. Those reductions would be 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, 42 percent by 2020, and 83 percent by 2050. The EU has said it will cut emissions by 20 to 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, with steeper reductions to follow. The Obama administration has been widely criticized for not committing itself to sharp reductions in greenhouse gases, but an administration official told reporters, “We don’t want to get out ahead or be at odds with what can be produced with legislation.” Obama is considering traveling to the Copenhagen conference to show the U.S. commitment to fighting climate change and to lay the groundwork for signing a climate treaty in 2010.

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