Optimistic Obama open to COP15 trip

US president Barack Obama could make his second trip to Copenhagen within three months this December when the climate summit gets underway in the Danish capital.

Barack Obama in Copenhagen in October (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

November 10, 2009

Obama will make a visit to the COP15 only if he feels his presence could help wrap up a ground-breaking deal in the increasingly crucial fight against climate change.

A trip to Copenhagen in early October proved fruitless for Obama as his hometown Chicago lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the 2016 Olympic bidding process – and the US president is eager that a second, more important trip will not prove as unrewarding.

Speaking to Reuters, Obama disclosed his current position on a COP15 visit, stating: "If I am confident that all the countries involved are bargaining in good faith and we are on the brink of a meaningful agreement and my presence in Copenhagen will make a difference in tipping us over edge, then certainly that's something that I will do.”

Over 40 heads of state have already confirmed their attendance at the talks and Obama remains optimistic over a possible deal despite recent pessimism, commenting: "The key now is for the United States and China, the two largest emitters, to come up with a framework that, along with other big emitters like the Europeans and those countries that are projected to be large emitters in the future, like India, can all buy into. I remain optimistic that between now and Copenhagen that we can arrive at that framework."

DIS is currently hosting a series of seminars around climate change and sustainability, which you can read about here.