USA!! USA!! American Delgation Defends "Enormous" Climate Achievements At Doha Conference

[hatrack]

DOHA, Qatar — The U.S. defended its track record on fighting climate change on Monday at U.N. talks, saying it's making "enormous" efforts to slow global warming and help the poor nations most affected by it.

Other countries have accused Washington of hampering the climate talks ever since the Bush administration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 treaty limiting emissions of heat-trapping gases by industrialized countries. As negotiators met for a two-week session in oil and gas-rich Qatar, U.S. delegate Jonathan Pershing suggested America deserves more credit. "Those who don't follow what the U.S. is doing may not be informed of the scale and extent of the effort, but it's enormous," Pershing said.

He noted that the Obama administration has taken a series of steps, including sharply increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, and made good on promises of climate financing for poor countries. A climate bill that would have capped emissions stalled in the Senate.

EDIT

The goal is to keep the global temperature rise under 2 degrees C (3.6 F), compared to pre-industrial times. Efforts taken so far to rein in emissions, reduce deforestation and promote clean technology are not getting the job done. A recent projection by the World Bank showed temperatures are expected to increase by up to 4 degrees C (7.2 F) by 2100.

EDIT

http://www.adn.com/2012/11/25/2703677/un-to-launch-new-round-of-talks.html

[OnlinePoker]

1. It seems odd to me in this age of the internet and video conferencing...

...that you would have thousands of people jet around the world, spewing untold tons of carbon into the atmosphere, to argue about the need to reduce carbon emissions. Couldn't it have been done just as easily with people sitting in offices in their home countries?