Barack Obama emerged from the chaotic final hours of the Copenhagen summit last night having salvaged an agreement for action on global warming – and his own reputation as a politician who can bridge the most challenging of political divides. After 15 hours of negotiations, an exhausted looking Obama said he managed to secure a deal on climate change incorporating America's three main goals of emissions cuts, financial aid for the poorest countries, and a measure of accountability for emissions pledges from developing countries.
But he acknowledged the skimpy 2.5 page draft produced at the end of his effort was not the comprehensive agreement he had come to Copenhagen for.
"I think it is important that instead of setting up a bunch of goals that just end up not being met, that we get moving," he said. "We just keep moving forward."
Obama's hectic day of negotiations began immediately on his arrival in Copenhagen, when he encountered what he described as a "fundamental deadlock" between rich and developing countries.
Much of that was a product of the deep resentment at America for its emissions reductions target: a 17% reduction over 2005 levels by 2020. That offer too was conditional on Congress passing climate change legislation. In the final days of the summit, a more vexing issue emerged over America's demands that China and other rapidly emerging countries offer an accounting of their actions to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.
Obama emerged last night claiming to have wrung an important concession from China and India to offer a fuller accounting of its emissions reductions.
"The truth is that we can actually monitor a lot of what takes place through satellite imagery and so forth," he said.
The reassurances are crucial for American domestic political consumption, where there is concern about losing economic ground to China and India in the transition to a clean energy economy. It did not seem at first that the president would be capable of breaking down the divide. Obama's eight-minute speech to the summit was viewed as a huge disappointment.
Although he called for bold and decisive action, Obama – who had been skittish at going to Copenhagen in the first place – offered no sign that Washington was willing to take such steps itself.
There were no further commitments on reducing emissions, or on finance for poor countries, beyond Hillary Clinton's announcement that the US would support a $100bn global fund to help developing nations adapt to climate change. He did not press the Senate to move ahead on climate change legislation, which environmental organisations have been urging for months. Obama did say America would follow through on his administration's clean energy agenda, and would live up to its pledges.
But in the absence of any evidence of that commitment the words rang hollow and there was a palpable sense of disappointment in the audience. He warned African and island countries that the alternative – of no agreement – was worse.
Obama's lacklustre speech proved a frustration to a summit that had been looking to him to use his stature on the world stage, and his following among African leaders, to reach an ambitious deal.
But by the end of the day, after Obama spent hours closeted with Chinese, Indian, South African and Brazilian officials, he managed to pull the situation back from the brink.
In his press conference, Obama held up the results of his deal-making as a sign that the era of American isolation under George Bush was over, and that he had returned the country to a position of leadership.
The day of diplomacy also allowed him to reassert the political skills which have not been seen to best advantage in the US during the struggles over health care and Afghanistan. "The time has come for us to get off the sidelines and shape the future that we seek. That is why I came to Copenhagen today," he said. "I believe that what we achieved in Copenhagen is not going to be the end, but rather the beginning."
