WASHINGTON - September 24 -  As world leaders gather today at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, more than 125 groups representing constituents in over 100 countries delivered an urgent letter to President Obama requesting bold action to fight climate change.

The letter asks President Obama to set ‘a vastly higher level of ambition for the United States’ contribution to both greenhouse gas emission cuts and a package of finance and technology for developing countries.’

“Developing countries are the least responsible for climate change but are already bearing the greatest burdens exacted by the climate crisis,” said Chee Yoke Ling, from Third World Network. “People around the world are looking to President Obama, as the leader of the world’s largest historical emitting country, to take bold action based on U.S. responsibility and capacity to act.”

“The U.S. Congress is dragging its heels on climate legislation in the lead up to Copenhagen in December, where key international climate negotiations will take place,” said Elizabeth Bast, international program director at Friends of the Earth U.S. “The Obama administration must make good on its pledge that the United States will be a global ally in the fight against climate change.”

International climate negotiations have stalled out this year over the reluctance of industrialized countries to commit to reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions to adequate levels and the provision of finance and technology for developing country adaptation and mitigation efforts.

See a copy of the letter here.

For more information visit the Third World Network website.