White House Calls Agreement With China, India and South Africa a ‘First Step’

By Alessandro Torello and Stephen Power

The White House said Friday that U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma reached a “meaningful agreement” for combating climate change. The deal was described by an administration official as “not sufficient to combat the threat of climate change but it’s an important first step.”

The White House official said developed and developing countries have agreed to listing their national actions and commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There will be a mechanism to funnel money to help developing nations pay for technology and projects to cope with the affects of climate change, such as rising sea levels.

The agreement sets a target of two degrees Celsius for the increase in global temperatures. Countries are supposed to provide information on the implementation of actions to cut carbon dioxide emissions through national communications, with provisions for international consultations and analysis under clearly defined guidelines, the official said.

Details of the language on verification of steps to curb greenhouse gases – which could be critical to political acceptance of the agreement in Congress – weren’t immediately available. The so-called transparency issue was a critical stumbling block in discussions between the U.S. and China.

The administration official said “no country is entirely satisfied with each element but this is a meaningful and historic step forward and a foundation from which to make further progress.”

Earlier Friday, Mr. Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the two leaders indicated they are close to agreement on a new arms-reduction treaty.

But on the climate issue, disagreements over fundamental issues continued into the evening Friday, despite efforts by the Danes and others to broker compromises.

“It is now clear there won’t be a comprehensive accord,” Italy’s Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said. “There will be a text that refers to next year for a comprehensive agreement,” she said.

Read the rest of this story at Wall Street Journal.

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