Eager Europeans urge Obama, COP 15
Release Date: 2009-03-05
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, both come to Washington requesting US leadership ahead of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen.
Speedy action is needed if US President Barack Obama wants to head a global deal on climate change later this year.
This was the message as Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britain, and Connie Hedegaard, Minister for Climate and Energy of the UN conference's host country, both visited Washington.
"I believe you, the nation that had the vision to put a man on the moon, is also the nation with a vision to protect and preserve our planet Earth," Gordon Brown said according to various media as he appeared as guest speaker at a special session of the US Congress. He also said, addressing both climate change and financial crisis: "We should seize this moment because never before have I seen a world willing to come together so much, never before has that been more needed."
Connie Hedegaard also appeared at the Congress. The purpose of her visit was to call for more than just good intentions from the new US administration:
"We can postpone anything but we have been postponing things for many years. We must come from this era where we talk about what to do and instead come to the era where we actually do things,” Hedegaard said in an interview with The Guardian, arguing that Barack Obama will need to push national climate legislation if USA wants to play a credible leadership role at the upcoming conference in her country:
"We all have a lot of homework before Copenhagen, but the world is looking towards the United States to provide leadership."
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | COP 15 |
| Country: | Denmark |
| Url: | http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=816 |