For months, President Obama has been working under the radar to get world leaders on board for a major agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, to be finalized at United Nations climate change talks in Paris in December, Politico reports. Not that Obama has been all that secretive about his plans: He trumpeted a landmark deal he reached with China last year, and highlighted the issue in talks with India's Narendra Modi in January. And he's discussing his goals publicly.
The China deal "allows us to leverage the entire world for the conference that will be taking place later this year in Paris," Obama told Vice News in an interview broadcast Monday. "When I'm done, we're still going to have a heck of a problem, but we will have made enough progress that the next president and the next generation can start building on it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138MSpeed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
-
Ottawa climate talks: can global plastic problem be solved?In the spotlight Nations aim to draft world's first treaty on plastic pollution, but resistance from oil- and gas-producing countries could limit scope
-
What is rock flour and how can it help to fight climate change?The Explainer Glacier dust to the rescue
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rainSpeed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
-
The growing thirst for camel milkUnder the radar Climate change and health-conscious consumers are pushing demand for nutrient-rich product – and the growth of industrialised farming
-
Why curbing methane emissions is tricky in fight against climate changeThe Explainer Tackling the second most significant contributor to global warming could have an immediate impact
-
How the EU undermines its climate goals with animal farming subsidiesUnder the radar Bloc's agricultural policy incentivises carbon-intensive animal farming over growing crops, despite aims to be carbon-neutral
-
EPA limits carcinogenic emissions at 218 US plantsSpeed Read The new rule aims to reduce cancer-causing air pollution in areas like Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'
-
Strong Taiwan earthquake kills 9, injures hundredsSpeed Read At magnitude 7.4, this was Taiwan's biggest earthquake in 25 years
