Copenhagen, Denmark (CNN) – Delegates at the U.N. Climate Change Conference are “running short on time” to reach agreement on a deal, U.S. President Barack Obama told them Friday.
“There is no time to waste,” he said. “Now I believe it’s the time for the nations and the people of the world to come behind a common purpose. We are ready to get this done today, but there has to be movement on all sides.”
Obama sounded impatient with the progress of the two-week conference so far, saying the scope of climate change discussions over the years have produced little more than talk.
“These international discussions have essentially taken place now for almost two decades, and we have very little to show for it other than an increased acceleration of the climate change phenomenon,” Obama said. “The time for talk is over.”
The president said that the “pieces” of an accord have become clearer in the past fortnight in Copenhagen, but that countries must now decide to sign on, even if they feel the framework is imperfect.
“No country will get everything that it wants,” he said.
Amid signs that climate talks could be falling apart at the critical stage, Obama arrived in the Danish capital Friday morning and immediately ripped up his planned schedule in a desperate attempt to salvage a global deal to cut carbon emissions.
He abruptly canceled a ceremonial one-on-one meeting with the Danish prime minister in order to jump into an emergency meeting with almost 20 key leaders — including representatives from China, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and India.
China’s involvement is critical because it has been holding up a climate deal over whether the United States and other wealthy nations should pay to help developing countries deal with the cost of global warming.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao spoke at the plenary session ahead of Obama and sought to reassure delegates that China takes the issue of climate change seriously.
“It is with a sense of responsibility to the Chinese people and the whole (of) mankind that the Chinese government has set the target for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “This is a voluntary action China has taken. … We have not attached any condition to the target, nor have we linked it to the target of any other country. We will honor our word with action.”
He said it was unacceptable to “turn a blind eye to historical responsibilities” or undermine the efforts of developing countries to work their way out of poverty and deal with climate change.
Ahead of his arrival, Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the conference to reveal that the United States will pay into a $100 billion-plus global fund to help poorer nations.
But the money comes with two big caveats: The nearly 200 nations gathered must sign on to a global deal to cut emissions, and China must provide more transparency to show it is complying with the new commitment.
Wen urged the conference to “pay attention to the practicality of the targets” they set. A long-term perspective is important, he said, but so is a focus on the present.
“It is necessary to set a direction for our long-term efforts, but it’s even more important to reach near-term targets,” he said.
Environmental lobbyists close to the talks, who had been optimistic about a deal Thursday, said Friday the negotiations got “rocky” after key officials met through the night and made very little progress.
The state of play may best be summed up by a White House official who told reporters: “Everything’s fluid.”
In his speech, Obama laid out the quandary that nations find themselves in at the conference.
“There are those developing countries that want aid with no strings attached, and no obligations with respect to transparency,” he said. “They think that the most advanced nations should pay a higher price. I understand that.
“There are those advanced nations who think that developing countries either cannot absorb this assistance, or that they will not be held accountable, effectively, and that the world’s fastest-growing emitters should bear a greater share of the burden.”
But America is already on board with a global deal, Obama said, and he laid responsibility for signing it at the feet of his fellow world leaders.
“We have made our commitments, we will do what we say,” he said. “Now, I believe that it’s the time for the nations and the people of the world to come together behind a common purpose.”
