Obama Challenges China: We Need Emission Monitors

President Obama took direct aim this morning at China's resistance to climate change monitoring, saying any deal that emerged from Copenhagen "would be empty words on a page" without such measures. They “need not be intrusive, or infringe upon sovereignty,” said Obama. The issue's been a sticking point for China, whose premier snubbed Obama today by sending an underling to a meeting attended by the US president and other world leaders, reports the New York Times.

“We are running short on time,” Obama said in his eight-minute speech urging both developed and developing nations to accept the climate change agreement. “We must have a mechanism to review whether we are keeping our commitments, and to exchange this information in a transparent manner.” Though China has promised to reduce emissions by 40-45% by 2020, Chinese leaders say outside verification measures undermine national sovereignty.
(More Copenhagen stories.)