Obama will offer U.S. climate cut in Copenhagen

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The United States unveiled its proposal to cut greenhouse gases by 2020 on Wednesday and said President Barack Obama will attend U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen next month -- before other world leaders show up. Obama will go to the December 7-18 talks in Denmark on December 9, the eve of a ceremony in nearby Oslo, Norway, where he will collect the Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said.

The United States unveiled its proposal to cut greenhouse gases by 2020 on Wednesday and said President Barack Obama will attend U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen next month -- before other world leaders show up.

Obama will go to the December 7-18 talks in Denmark on December 9, the eve of a ceremony in nearby Oslo, Norway, where he will collect the Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said.

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He is not scheduled to return, however, for the final days when most of the hard bargaining is likely and dozens of other leaders are slated to attend.

The White House said the United States will pledge in Copenhagen to cut its greenhouse gas emissions roughly 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, a drop of about 3 percent below the 1990 benchmark year used in U.N. treaties.

That figure is in line with legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives but is less ambitious than a 20 percent reduction sought in a Senate version that has been delayed.

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