But Obama remained optimistic that climate change could be solved and that world leaders would reach a climate agreement with legally-binding emission targets at the end of two weeks of negotiations in Paris.
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“It produces questions, so I have had countries ask me about, but what I have said is that the Clean Power Plan rule is going to go forward”, he said. But in Wednesday’s press conference, Stern echoed other officials in saying that the Paris agreement would need to do more – both during this summit and beyond. “If the president wishes to sign the American people up to a legally binding agreement, the deal must go through the Senate”, he said in a statement. “President Obama has stressed – as has Prime Minister Modi – the critical importance of India being able to continue to lift its people out of poverty”, she said.
China’s delegate Su Wei “noted with concern” what he called a lack of commitment by the rich to make deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and help developing nations with new finance to tackle global warming. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie thinks Obama puts too high a priority on fighting global warming, arguing on NBC on Tuesday that the president should focus more on “the climate right now between people and their government.” Sen.
Congress will exert its ability to block any agreements made by the Obama administration at the Conference of Parties climate change summit by withholding more than $3 billion in taxpayer funds promised by the Obama administration to certain countries, according to an in-depth government report published Tuesday by the Senate’s Environmental and Public Works Committee, which provides oversight on climate issues.
“So, although everyone here is unified in the desire to address climate change, economic interests play a role as well”.
The votes are part of a concerted Republican effort to stymie Obama on energy regulation and what they say is his abuse of executive authority to impose unrealistic, job-killing restrictions on industry.
Evan Vucci/APPresident Barack Obama shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting held on the sidelines of the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Hollande heard from 12 African leaders who described the Sahara Desert encroaching on farmland, forests disappearing from Congo to Madagascar and rising sea levels swallowing homes in West African river deltas. He plans to provide billions of dollars into basic energy research over the next five years.
“Some of their nations could disappear entirely” as water levels rise, “and as weather patterns change, we might deal with tens of millions of climate refugees in the Asia-Pacific region”.
The lake, surrounded by Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, has shrunk as much as 90 percent compared to 1960, changing the lives of nearby farmers, fishermen and herders.
When launching this global effort on Monday, many world leaders made voluntary carbon-curbing pledges.
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To achieve that goal – which is tougher than the expected 2 degree Celsius cap at the talks – would require cutting carbon emissions to zero and adopting 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, the nations said.
