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Kerry Promises U.S. Action in Copenhagen

With the pressure on to pass health care reform by the end of the year, Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., has promised Copenhagen Climate Conference Delegates that the U.S. Congress will pass a sweeping climate change bill in 2010.  That is, if negotiators here can reach a global deal.

Despite a standing ovation, the speech by Kerry brought back memories of Vice President Al Gore's promise that the United States would commit to binding emissions cuts, during the 1997 Kyoto Protocol talks. The Senate never ratified the Kyoto treaty, and the United States has remained exempt from any international global warming obligations since then.

Kerry's promise sets the stage for President Obama's Copenhagen appearance.  Obama is expected to promise U.S. action to cut emissions.  Recognizing past failures, Kerry told the gathering that in the Senate and in America, the concerns that kept us out of Kyoto back in 1997 are still with us today, and we need to preempt them here in Copenhagen.