Danish PM Hopeful About Copenhagen Climate Summit

Even if all the countries slated to show up in Copenhagen for next month’s United Nations climate talks are represented around the negotiating table, there remains a huge amount of work to do. For one, a legally binding measure to replace the Kyoto Treaty has yet to be created. Still, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen is “optimistic” about the summit. –KA

Reuters:

Rasmussen, speaking in an interview to Reuters in Moscow after meeting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said he hoped there would be a substantial enough agreement on the table to entice national leaders to attend.

“Convinced is probably too big a word, but I have decided to stay optimistic about this because I have been engaged in talks with many leaders in the last couple of months and I sense a very strong political willingness to conclude a result in Copenhagen,” he said.

[…] Rasmussen said he was encouraged both by a statement at the United Nations in New York by Chinese President Hu Jintao and strong engagement from U.S. President Barack Obama.

Read more