Yes We Can Work Together on Climate Change

By Chargé d’Affaires-a.i. Terry Breese
U.S. Embassy, Ottawa
September 22, 2009

Today, U.S. President Barack Obama will speak to world leaders on climate change during a special U.N. summit in New York on the eve of the 64th session of the U.N. General Assembly.

The nations of the world are working hard right now to negotiate a new international agreement to combat climate change.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing our world today. Already its impacts are apparent and consequences severe. Arctic sea ice is disappearing faster than expected. The Greenland Ice Sheet is shrinking. Sea levels threaten to rise higher than previously anticipated. And water supplies are increasingly at risk from both melting glaciers and extreme climate events, such as droughts and floods. These changes threaten not only the environment, but also security and stability.

The science sends a simple and stark message: all countries must work together to combat climate change, and the time for action is now.

President Obama recognizes that the United States must be a leader in the global effort to combat climate change. We have a responsibility as the world’s largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases. We know that without U.S. emissions reductions no solution to climate change is possible, so the U.S. will take the lead in building a 21st century clean energy economy.

When it comes to climate change, President Obama is taking the U.S. in a new direction. The President called on the U.S. Congress to develop comprehensive clean energy legislation to cut emissions 14 percent from 2005 levels in 2020 and 83 percent in 2050. A bill has passed the House of Representatives and is making its way through the Senate. The President’s economic stimulus package includes over $80 billion for clean energy. And recently instituted vehicle standards will increase fuel economy and reduce emissions.

To preserve a safe and livable planet, all major emitting nations have to join together to take strong action. There is no other way to contain climate change – the International Energy Agency estimates 97 percent of future emissions growth will come from the developing world.

The U.S. is pursuing a global strategy to combat climate change through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiating process, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and key bilateral relationships.

To achieve a strong international agreement and meet the climate challenge all countries must be fully engaged. Developed countries need to reduce their emissions substantially by 2020 on an absolute basis, compared to a 2005 or 1990 baseline. Major developing nations must take actions that will substantially reduce their emissions by 2020 on a relative basis, compared to their so-called “business as usual” path. Other developing countries should focus on preparing low-carbon growth plans – with financial and technical assistance where needed – to guide their longer-term development path. It is important to ensure that a new agreement will not require developing countries to take steps that would stifle their capacity to develop and grow.

Ultimately, a climate change agreement must be about not only limiting carbon emissions but about providing a pathway for sustainable development. Clean energy development is the only sustainable way forward. To facilitate this path, countries with advanced capabilities must stand ready to develop and disseminate technologies to countries in need. Building a clean energy global economy can provide significant opportunity, driving investment, economic growth and job creation around the world.

The United States and Canada are already working together to achieve these goals. In February 2009, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper set out an ambitious plan for our countries to begin to build a new low-carbon energy economy together. Central to that vision is the Clean Energy Dialogue which was created to enhance collaboration on the development of clean energy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. Last Wednesday, in Washington D.C., the President and Prime Minister received an initial Action Plan on the Clean Energy Dialogue laying out next steps that will support our climate change objectives and put North America on a pathway to a low carbon economy. Together, we can build a cleaner, stronger and more prosperous North America while contributing to the global climate change effort.