U.S. May Endorse Scaled-Back Agreement at Copenhagen, Report Says

The Obama administration, faced with the failure of Congress to pass climate legislation before global talks in Copenhagen next month, may endorse a more limited interim agreement and defer stronger U.S. commitments until next year, according to the Washington Post. While the scaled-back agreement would fall short of what European leaders wanted from the U.S., administration and congressional leaders say it will at least prevent the global talks from being seen as a failure. “An interim, operational deal is not meant to be seen as a substitute for a real agreement,” Todd Stern, the U.S. special envoy on climate change, told the Post. “It’s meant to be seen as substantive building blocks to a full, legal agreement, and perhaps the best chance of getting such an agreement.” The interim pact, outlined last month by Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, would include “political commitments” from key nations on carbon emissions targets and agreements on how much money richer nations would be willing to spend to help developing nations adapt to the impacts of climate change.