Obama may attend Copenhagen summit
Barack Obama may attend Copenhagen summit if 'sufficient progress' is made, US official says
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By Richard James
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Tuesday, 20, Oct 2009 10:46
The US president Barack Obama may attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen if "sufficient progress" is made.
The US special envoy for climate change, Todd Stern, played down the presence of the president at the conference, saying that progress would need to be made to warrant the attendance of leaders.
Ed Miliband, Britain's energy and climate change secretary, has urged the president to attend the conference amid failing talks. It is hoped enough progress will be made in the run-up to the conference to warrant a visit from by Mr Obama.
Mr Stern said at a meeting in London: "If the kind of progress is made that warrants the presence of leaders then we will certainly consider that.
"The US is fully committed to trying to get a strong and pragmatic and solid agreement and the president is fully focused on that."
Yesterday, prime minister Gordon Brown warned world leaders there is "no plan B" if efforts to secure a new global climate change deal in the coming months fail.
The prime minister made the comments to the Major Economies Forum in London and said the Copenhagen conference in December must be the moment when a new historic agreement is reached.