US pledges 17% emission reduction by 2020

US today pledged to cut its green house gas emission by 17 per cent by 2020 from the 2005 level, hoping that countries like India and China would follow suit as agreed upon during the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change in December.

The Special US Envoy on Climate Change, Todd Stern, in a letter informed the UN Framework Conventional of Climate Change Secretariat about the Obama Administration's decision in this regard, which is part of the voluntary commitment made by economies including India and China during the Copenhagen Climate Change summit.

In a statement, Stern said the Obama Administration expects "that all major economies will honour their agreement in Copenhagen to submit their mitigation targets or actions as provided in the Accord."

However, Stern told the world body that its commitment to reduce the green gas house gas emission by 17 per cent by 2020 is contingent on Congress passing climate change legislation.

 "The US submission reflects President Obama's continued commitment to meeting the climate change and clean energy challenge through robust domestic and international action that will strengthen our economy, enhance our national security and protect our environment," Stern wrote.

"US is committed to working with our partners around the world to make the accord operational and to continue the effort to build a strong, effective, science-based, global regime to combat the profound threat of climate change," Stern said.