Environmental Leader

The Obama Administration will likely sign a provisional target for cutting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the Copenhagen climate talks in December, reports the Guardian’s Observer.

Todd Stern, the state department climate change envoy, said in the article that the provisional target would reduce GHG emissions by 14 to 20 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels. However, this still falls short of the emissions targets adopted by other developed countries in Europe and Japan, reports the Observer.

Obama and other world leaders have already decided not to seek a binding climate change agreement in Copenhagen, which some countries put the blame on the U.S. for not passing its own national climate legislation.

UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told AFP that the U.S. does not need to finalize its climate legislation ahead of the Copenhagen talks, citing that not one country that signed the Kyoto Protocol had legislation in place; they developed the legislation afterwards.

De Boer expects targets from developed countries and clarity on what major developing countries like India and China are willing to do to combat global warming, reports Google (via AFP). De Boer also told AFP that he expects a list of pledged contributions particularly for the poorest nations.

In the meantime, climate negotiators from India and the U.S. have opened up the possibilities for collaboration in the area of renewable energy and energy-efficient buildings during climate talks at Copenhagen, reports IBN Live.

In addition, India has agreed to declare its climate mitigation actions in a national communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), which would be an important concession by India considering the nation has consistently said it would not set carbon reduction targets.