President Obama told a UN summit on Tuesday that up to now, the U.S. has not taken strong enough actions to address the global warming challenge. However, he said that the job has to be done in this generation, and that "difficulty is no excuse for complacency."
President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared that the United States is a serious partner in combating global warming, telling world peers "we are determined to act."
"The journey is hard, and we don't have much time left to make it," Obama said in brief remarks at a high-level climate summit convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Obama sought to show U.S. resolve ahead of crucial talks in Copenhagen in December, when nations will try to reach a new global treaty to address climate change. He spoke at the start of a busy day of diplomacy at the United Nations that also was to include a three-way meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an effort to nudge forward the Mideast peace process.
"We understand the gravity of the climate threat. We are determined to act," Obama said, "and we will meet our responsibility to future generations."
He spoke after Ban admonished leaders to put aside differences and move more quickly on global warming.
Break From Bush Policy
Obama is under pressure to put political capital behind getting a serious clean energy law at home and show that the U.S., an economic giant, will do its part to cut heat-trapping emissions. The U.S. House passed a bill this summer that would set the first mandatory limits on greenhouse gases, but a Senate version appears increasingly unlikely this year.
In his first presidential visit to the United Nations, Obama also sought to show a clear break from former President George W. Bush without referring to his predecessor by name. Bush's critics said he didn't take climate change seriously enough.
"It is true that for too many years, mankind has been slow to respond to or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat. It is true of my own country as well," Obama said. "We recognize that."
Environmental experts warn of catastrophic changes, from rising sea levels to more drought, if industrial and developing nations cannot collectively address a warming planet.
"Our generation's response to this challenge will be judged by history," Obama said.
Doubts and Difficulties
Obama said his administration has made the "largest-ever" American investment in renewable energy, and he called on other nations -- the rich and the developing countries alike -- to rise to the challenge. He said undertaking costly environmental clean-up work is difficult at a time when the world is trying to recover from a recession, but that it has to be done.
"All of us will face doubts and difficulties in our own capitals as we try to reach a lasting solution to the climate challenge," Obama said, "but difficulty is no excuse for complacency."
Tuesday's UN summit and the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh later this week seek to put added pressure on rich nations to commit to greenhouse gas cuts and to pay for poorer nations to burn less coal and preserve their forests.
Obama sought repeatedly to hold everyone accountable. He said developed nations such as the United States have a "responsibility to lead" but rapidly growing nations must do their part.
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