Int’l Climate Leaders Brief Congress on Capping Carbon

A group of leading international climate officials visited Washington last week to brief Congress and President Obama. The foreign visitors included climate change economist Lord Nicholas Stern, British prime minister Gordon Brown and top UN climate official Yvo de Boer. The dignitaries paid special attention to the difficulties of administering a cap-and-trade system and international negotiations.

Lord Stern said he is encouraged by progress in the United States to reduce emissions and work on an international pact, but he said he does not believe industrialized nations will commit to national targets by the end of UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December. Instead, Stern said adaptation funding will be the "instruments for actions" at the conference.

Yvo de Boer said he is optimistic about America's role in the United Nations, but said he didn't expect to hear too many specifics when White House negotiators attend their first UN climate meeting in Bonn, Germany later this month. "I keep reminding myself that this administration has only been around for five weeks," said de Boer. De Boer also said that an international climate agreement hinges on serious emission reduction commitments from major developed countries and wealthy countries contributing substantial funds to help poorer countries develop low-carbon technologies and to adapt to the effects of climate change. Read more at Washington Post