At the onset of two-weeks of climate negotiations with world leaders, President Obama suggested that he is seeking an agreement to curb global warming that includes enforceable components, raising the stakes of both the diplomatic talks abroad and the ongoing climate change debate stateside.
Speaking to reporters in Paris on Tuesday, Obama described what a “successful” deal would look like, saying that it should include “an ambitious target that seeks a low carbon global economy over the course of this century.”
“That means that countries have put forward specific targets and, although those are self generating, there is a mechanism in which they are presenting to the world confirmation that they are working on those targets,” the President said.
“So there’s a single transparency mechanism that all countries are adhering to and that those are legally binding,” he added, noting that countries should have to adhere to “periodic reviews.”
Obama also called for an agreement that includes a climate fund that helps developing countries “leapfrog over dirty power generation in favor of clean energy.”
The United Nations-led process is under growing pressure to produce an accord that would prevent global temperatures from increasing more than two degrees Celsius, which climate scientists say could mitigate some of the worst effects of climate change. Estimates point to a three to five degree global temperature increase by 2100 under current policies.
Although a “legally binding” component would bolster the agreement’s effectiveness, it could also act as a poison pill for some parties–both domestic and foreign. Depending on the scope of such a mechanism, the Senate could declare it a formal treaty and demand to ratify the entire deal.
The Republican-led body has already tried scuttling talks in Paris. In the run-up to negotiations, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Senators warned countries not to trust the administration on climate talks, and claimed that without formal Congressional approval, the next president could undo any commitments made by President Obama.
