The United States on Monday resisted calls for deeper emissions cuts, saying the Obama administration would hold fast to a 2009 pledge to cut emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The statement came despite a plea by poorer countries for greater action to help the world avoid more severe storms, droughts and rising ocean levels. One analyst with Action Aid USA noted that climate change has a harsher impact on poor countries.

Brandon Wu: “What happens when there’s a drought in the U.S.? Our food prices go up. What happens when there’s a big hurricane that hits New York? You know, it’s a big deal, it’s a problem. But what happens when those same disasters hit countries that are not nearly as well resourced? What happens when, say, a hurricane hits Haiti, for example? What happens when there’s a drought in the Sahel? The impacts are much more severe, and, you know, there’s a real climate justice dimension to this conversation that needs to have a much higher profile in the United States.”