The United States is Committed to Success in Copenhagen – and Beyond

by Matthew W. Barzun

File photo of Ambassador Barzun.

This time of year, our three young children wake up excited to begin each day with the opening of a tiny door and the extraction of Swedish chocolate from their Advent calendars. This year, anticipation is for all ages. People throughout the world await the days of December with anxiousness, hoping that a new door may be opened to a clean energy future for everyone.

In the coming days, President Obama accepts the prize for peace in Oslo; the other Nobel prizes will be given in Stockholm; Sweden chairs its final EU council meeting; and then on December 18th, President Obama joins with Prime Minister Reinfeldt and leaders from over 90 other countries in Copenhagen.

Some may say that in seeking to make the most of this Nordic December, his first visit (Oslo) will be a test of his words and the second (Copenhagen) a test of his deeds. I think this misses the point. President Obama subscribes to a tradition of American thought that words and deeds alike are defined only by the results they produce. The real test will be evaluated in carbon levels in the years to come. December brings important moments for the president, but they are just a part of an intense effort that has been going on for many months.

Even before he became president -- exactly a year ago this week, in fact -- he appointed Nobel prize winner Steven Chu (Physics 1997) to lead the US Department of Energy, and got the US back to the negotiating table. He worked with the U.S. Congress to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act just thirty days into his presidency, which included 80 billion dollars in green investments. It quintupled the investment in alternative fuels alone. Since the President took office, the United States has established greenhouse gas emissions inventory and reporting requirements for all significant sources, we have tightened appliance efficiency standards, and we will substantially reduce automobile emissions through the first-ever joint fuel economy-tailpipe CO2 standards.

He has also led an aggressive domestic and diplomatic effort to bring added momentum to Copenhagen, signaled by his rescheduled visit on December 18th. The president and the U.S. Congress have worked productively on legislation to reduce emissions 83% by 2050 in my country. Following bilateral meetings with the President, China and India have set targets to reduce their carbon intensity for the first time.

The United States is committed to achieving the strongest possible outcome in Copenhagen. In line with this, we support the practical Danish proposal that the international community, at a minimum, seek to reach an operational accord that enables us to get started immediately with commitments to action, and that would move us closer to the legally binding treaty we seek.

As President Obama has professed since taking public office, real change is only achieved when individual hearts have been opened and habits have been altered. The key decision-makers for global action are not just those assembled in Copenhagen. They are the other 6.7 billion of us. “A new era of engagement” doesn’t mean more summits. It means day-in-day-out conscious effort by you, me and everyone. Leaders need to ensure every global citizen is empowered with the tools for success, but by the same token there can be no free riders.

And when one talks of hearts, habits and how they can change to mobilize for clean energy, one talks of Sweden.  Sweden is rightly proud – and Americans grateful – for the example set for us all. With a 44% increase in GDP and a 9% reduction in emissions since 1992, Sweden is proving to the world that clean energy and economic growth are mutually enhancing, not mutually exclusive.

I continue to be profoundly inspired by the Swedish people and those in my country who have made a clean energy future their own personal mission.  We at U.S. Embassy Stockholm also understand that each of us must heed the call to action, must open new doors and must facilitate the new era of engagement for a clean energy economy in America, Sweden and across the globe.

The author is the Ambassador of the United States of America to Sweden