Washington: US President Barack Obama is to attend the upcoming UN conference in Paris aimed at sealing a global climate agreement, the White House has said.
Obama will only be attending on November 30 and December 1, the first and second day of the two-week event, to discuss "this serious issue" with world leaders, Xinhua quoted White House spokesman Josh Earnest as saying on Monday.
Earnest said Obama will push for an agreement that includes climate targets from all participating nations, incentivises further reductions, and mobilises financial and technical support for low-carbon development and climate adaptation, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable countries.
When asked if Obama will bring a bargaining chip to help hammer out the deal, the spokesman said: "I certainly would not rule out, necessarily, any future commitments."
Meanwhile, Obama launched his own Facebook page on Monday with his first post calling for actions against climate change.
The Obama administration has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent of 2005 levels by 2025, which Earnest called "a substantial commitment".
Some climate experts have dismissed the target as not ambitious enough to help curb a changing climate.