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China on the Defensive After Obama's Climate Speech
Kent Garber
Climate Change: Global Carbon Footprint
(c) M. Ryder
As international climate talks continue,
Both President
Obama met with Wen and,according to reports, sought a second meeting after thepremier walked away from negotiations.
The immediate source ofconflict appears to have been part of Obama's speech. Speakingdeliberately, with long pauses, Obama told leaders to stop squabblingover a deal or risk having "the same stale arguments, month after month,year after year, perhaps decade after decade."
He seemed annoyed,even accusatory, at times, admonishing some leaders for naivelyinsisting on getting a perfect treaty and refusing to compromise. "Weknow the fault lines because we've been imprisoned by them for years,"he said. "We have very little to show for it."
And in what was probably the most inflammatory part, at least from
Even before Obama spoke, Wen appeared defensive, as if compelled toaddress the charge that
Wen reminded leaders there is general acceptance that
In general,
Attempting to dispel
In part for that reason, the negotiations this afternoon have beenvolatile, with little progress, and now there is near certainty thatthey will continue through tomorrow. According to some reports, Obamaand other leaders have been asked to stay the night.
But
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio
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China on the Defensive After Obama's Climate Speech | Kent Garber
(c) 2009 U.S. News & World Report