Washington - President Barack Obama, facing pressure from the European Union to curb US greenhouse-gas emissions, said Monday that he was confident a global climate treaty could be worked out by December's UN summit in Copenhagen. During a White House meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, Obama said all governments wanted to see the Copenhagen talks succeed in moving the ball forward on curbing global warming.
"We are confident that if all countries involved recognize this is a unique opportunity, that we can get an important deal done," Obama said.
But Obama suggested the Copenhagen summit will not result in agreement on a final treaty, as the UN is hoping. The goal was not a deal "that solves every problem on this issue but takes an important step forward and lays the groundwork for further progress in the future," he said.
The US has been criticized by the EU and other countries for failing to commit to curbs on its greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for global warming. Obama has been reluctant to agree to a strong global climate treaty without the backing of Congress, where Obama's fellow Democrats are struggling to pass a pollution-curbing bill.
Reinfeldt said it was critical that the two sides find a way forward in the six weeks before the Copenhagen talks. The EU will be pushing for further concessions during an EU-US summit in Washington on Tuesday, which will also include EU Commission President Jose Manual Barroso.
"We need to work together. We need to find each other in the process," Reinfeldt said of the stalled climate talks.
The UN hopes governments will agree to a new treaty that can replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol when negotiators meet in Copenhagen in December.
Obama also stressed the importance of close cooperation and avoiding protectionism between the United States and European Union as their economies embark on a slow recovery. The world economy had stabilized, but the road ahead would be difficult.
"It is absolutely critical that we continue to coordinate when it comes to our economic policies (and that) we continue to shy away from any protectionist measures," Obama said. The 27-member EU is the largest trading partner of the United States.
