Barack Obama, EU leaders Joint Statement on Durban Climate Change Conference

U.S. President Barack Obama and senior leaders from the European Union affirmed their commitment to making progress at the Durban Climate Change Conference in a Joint Statement issued after a meeting at the White House on November 28, 2011:

On climate change, we affirm our intent to work closely together to ensure a positive, balanced outcome in Durban, including mitigation, transparency and financing.  We stand fully behind the commitments we made last year in Cancun.  We affirm that Durban should deliver on operationalizing the Cancun agreements and helping the international community move a step further towards a comprehensive, global framework with the participation of all, including robust and transparent greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments by all major economies, recalling the 2°C objective agreed upon in Cancun.  With this in mind, we will cooperate closely in other relevant fora, notably the Major Economies Forum.  We also intend to work together to address other global sources of emissions, including from the aviation and maritime sectors, in the appropriate multilateral forums and consistent with applicable agreements.

The Joint Statement also touched upon the issue of clean energy:

We recognize the vital role of the U.S.-EU Energy Council in fostering cooperation on energy security, renewables and other clean energy technologies, energy efficiency, and effective policies for facilitating trade and bringing clean energy technologies to market.  We affirm the value of common approaches toward safe and sustainable development of energy resources and the diversification of supplies.  We also call for reinforced bilateral and multilateral cooperation with a special focus on critical materials, smart grid technologies, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, and nuclear fusion. 

President Barack Obama: Recycling creates green jobs

In an election season that has highlighted the largely partisan divide on climate change and green energy among U.S. politicians, President Barack Obama found a few moments to celebrate one environmental protection strategy that continues to enjoy bipartisan support: recycling.

Obama marked American Recycles Day on November 15, 2011 with the following Presidential Proclamation:

As Americans, we have a responsibility to ensure future generations benefit from an abundance of natural resources and a healthy planet.  To meet this obligation, we must take steps to consume carefully, recycle a wide variety of products and materials, and reuse whenever possible.  On America Recycles Day, we celebrate the commitment of individuals across our country to live sustainably, and we rededicate ourselves to thoughtful resource management at home and in the workplace. 

For decades, American families have advanced the common good of our Nation by recycling regularly and promoting conservation.  During the First and Second World Wars, families participated in scrap drives, gathering cloth, paper, and metals for reuse in manufacturing that helped fuel our military and our economic growth.  Since then, we have bolstered recycling programs through individual action, community engagement, and national initiatives, and we have broadened our efforts to include a vast array of pioneering industrial processes that will drive our clean economy and create green jobs.  These advances cut waste, preserve our natural bounty, and spur the robust and sustainable economic growth that will carry us through this century and into the next.

To meet the economic and environmental challenges that confront our country today, we must update and expand existing recycling programs and dedicate ourselves to devising new strategies to accommodate emerging technologies.  Our Nation generates over two million tons of used electronics annually, and without following proper recycling and management practices, the disposal of our old computers, monitors, and cell phones can release toxic materials into our environment, endanger human health, and prevent the recovery and reuse of valuable resources.  For the well-being of our people and our planet, we must consider the full lifecycle impacts of our products and strive to manage our resources in a sustainable way. 

To ensure America remains a global leader in developing new, sustainable electronics technologies, my Administration launched the National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship earlier this year.  The strategy establishes a framework for responsible electronics design, purchasing, management, and recycling that will accelerate our burgeoning electronics recycling market and create jobs for the future here at home.  To lead by example, my Administration is committed to efficient use, reuse, and proper disposal of electronics within the Federal Government, and we are collaborating with certified recycling centers to handle and dispose of used electronics safely and effectively.  We are also forging new partnerships with the private sector that will advance electronics recycling across our country.  Through collaboration and shared responsibility, we are protecting public health, preserving environmental quality, and laying the foundation for a 21st century economy.

America Recycles Day offers us an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable strides we have made in the pursuit of sustainability, and to challenge ourselves to do even more.  As we rise to meet this challenge, we fulfill a promise to our children that they will inherit a world more beautiful and prosperous than the one we received.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 15, 2011, as America Recycles Day.  I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities, and I encourage all Americans to continue their recycling efforts throughout the year.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

In Australia, Obama discusses Durban Climate Change Conference

Climate change was on the agenda as U.S. President Barack Obama visited Australia today,  just eleven days before the start of the next United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa.

President Obama mentioned climate change during his speech before the Australian Parliament this morning:

And we need growth that is sustainable.  This includes the clean energy that creates green jobs and combats climate change, which cannot be denied.  We see it in the stronger fires, the devastating floods, the Pacific islands confronting rising seas. And as countries with large carbon footprints, the United States and Australia have a special responsibility to lead.

Every nation will contribute to the solution in its own way -- and I know this issue is not without controversy, in both our countries.  But what we can do -- and what we are doing -- is to work together to make unprecedented investments in clean energy, to increase energy efficiency, and to meet the commitments we made at Copenhagen and Cancun.  We can do this, and we will.

He also responded to a reporter's question about U.S. climate policy during a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard:  

Mark Riley - 7 News, Australia:  Mr. President, I wanted to ask you about the other rising giant of our region -- India -- and the Prime Minister might like to add some comments.  How significant is it for the U.S. that Australia is now considering selling uranium to India? And could you clear up for us what influence or encouragement your administration gave Australia as it made that decision?  And also, the decision is so India can produce clean energy.  In that regard, you're aware that our Parliament has passed a new bill, pricing carbon -- a carbon tax, if you like.  But we're intrigued about where America is going on this issue.

And countries like Australia don’t see a carbon trading system in the world working unless America is a big part of it.  Can you tell us, is it your wish that American will have an emissions trading scheme across the nation within the next five years or so?  How heavily do you want to see America involved in an emissions trading scheme globally, or has this become too politically hard for you?

Barack Obama:  Well, first of all, with respect to India, we have not had any influence, I suspect, on Australia’s decision to explore what its relationship in terms of the peaceful use of nuclear energy in India might be.  I suspect that you’ve got some pretty smart government officials here who figured out that India is a big player, and that the Australia-India relationship is one that should be cultivated.  So I don’t think Julia or anybody else needs my advice in figuring that out.  This is part of your neighborhood, and you are going to make bilateral decisions about how to move forward. 

I think without wading into the details, the discussions that are currently taking place here in Australia around that relationship and the nuclear issue with India are ones that are compatible with international law, compatible with decisions that were made in the NPT.  And I will watch with interest what’s determined.  But this is not something between the United States and Australia; this is something between India and Australia.

With respect to carbon emissions, I share the view of your Prime Minister and most scientists in the world that climate change is a real problem and that human activity is contributing to it, and that we all have a responsibility to find ways to reduce our carbon emissions.

Each country is trying to figure out how to do that most effectively.  Here in Australia, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, you’ve moved forward with a bold strategy.  In the United States, although we haven’t passed what we call a cap-and-trade system, an exchange, what we have done is, for example, taken steps to double fuel efficiency standard on cars, which will have an enormous impact on removing carbon from the atmosphere.

We’ve invested heavily in clean energy research.  We believe very strongly that we’ve improved efficiencies and a whole step range of steps that we can meet and the commitments that we made in Copenhagen and Cancun.  And as we move forward over the next several years, my hope is, is that the United States, as one of several countries with a big carbon footprint, can find further ways to reduce our carbon emissions.  I think that’s good for the world.  I actually think, over the long term, it’s good for our economies as well, because it’s my strong belief that industries, utilities, individual consumers -- we’re all going to have to adapt how we use energy and how we think about carbon. 

Now, another belief that I think the Prime Minister and I share is that the advanced economies can’t do this alone.  So part of our insistence when we are in multilateral forum -- and I will continue to insist on this when we go to Durban -- is that if we are taking a series of step, then it’s important that emerging economies like China and India are also part of the bargain.  That doesn’t mean that they have to do exactly what we do.  We understand that in terms of per capita carbon emissions, they’ve got a long way to go before they catch up to us.  But it does mean that they’ve got to take seriously their responsibilities as well.

And so, ultimately, what we want is a mechanism whereby all countries are making an effort.  And it’s going to be a tough slog, particularly at a time when the economies are -- a lot of economies are still struggling.  But I think it’s actually one that, over the long term, can be beneficial.