Earth Equity News

Obama: Disappointment is Justified, But We Held Ground. Interview with Jim Lehrer, PBS News Hour, December 23, 2009, transcript and video, 22:40 min., video excerpt 2:55 min. "Lehrer: 'Here was a situation where there were many things that you and others wanted done. None of them got done, and yet you've said, well, it was a success anyhow...' Obama: 'I think that people are justified in being disappointed about the outcome in Copenhagen. What I said was essentially that rather than see a complete collapse in Copenhagen, in which nothing at all got done and would have been a huge backward step, at least we kind of held ground and there wasn't too much backsliding from where we were. It didn't move us the way we need to. The science says that we've got to significantly reduce emissions over the next - over the next 40 years. There's nothing in the Copenhagen agreement that ensures that that happens. What did occur was that at a point where there was about to be complete breakdown, and the prime minister of India was heading to the airport and the Chinese representatives were essentially skipping negotiations, and everybody's screaming, what did happen was, cooler heads prevailed. And we were able to at least agree on non-legally binding targets for all countries - not just the United States, not just Europe, but also for China and India, which, projecting forward, are going to be the world's largest emitters. So that - that was an important principle, that everybody's got to do something in order to solve this problem...'

"'My main responsibility here is to convince the American people that it is smart economics and it is going to be the engine of our economic growth for us to be a leader in clean energy. And if we pass a bill in the Senate, reconcile it with the House, that says we are going to invest in wind energy and solar energy and we're going to be the guys who are producing wind turbines, and we're going to be the folks who are producing solar panels on rooftops, and we're going to be the country that is retrofitting all its homes and businesses so that we are 30% more energy-efficient than we are right now, that produces jobs that can't be exported; it reduces our dependence on foreign oil; it is good economics; it will increase our exports -- oh, and by the way, it also solves the climate problem. And that is, I think, an argument that I'm going to be making not just next year but for several years to come.'"