Energy Efficiency & Climate Change Law

The White House initially announced that President Obama would be traveling to the U.N. climate meetings in Copenhagen on December 9th, the day before he accepts his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.  However, this evening, the President changed his plans to travel to Copenhagen not until December 18th – the last day of the negotiations.  

In a statement, the White House asserted, "continued U.S. leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference on December 18 rather than on December 9."  Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called President Obama’s decision to attend the conference on December 18th, which is when other world leaders will also be in attendance, "an expression of the growing political momentum toward sealing an ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen."  

While President Obama’s attendance on the last day of the conference may raise expectations for an agreement in Copenhagen, the change to his itinerary, and the rationale volunteered by the White House, is disappointing.  

Although the United States will be represented throughout the entirety of the meetings in Copenhagen by an impressive array of talented and proven leaders, as argued in a previous post, significant progress in Copenhagen would require the very diplomatic skills for which President Obama will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Given the significant risks at stake in forming a global agreement to address climate change, coupled with President Obama’s great talents and celebrity status, by waiting to travel to Copenhagen until the final moments of the 12-day conference he will squander the opportunity to actively help broker a deal.