BERLIN (AP) — Negotiators at the Copenhagen climate summit should agree to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius by mid-century, and countries must make better offers of action, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday.
Merkel told ZDF television that plans for many leaders to attend the meeting — including President Barack Obama — demonstrate that the world recognizes the significance of climate change.
"That makes me mildly optimistic, but the aim has not yet been reached," she said.
"The aim of this conference must be an international commitment to the limiting of global warming to 2 degrees (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050, and for that all must step up (their offers), in particular countries like China and India that don't yet recognize this 2 degree aim," Merkel said.
"The overall offers that are on the table are not yet enough to be sure of reaching the 2 degree target," she added.
Merkel herself plans to attend the conference in its closing phase.
A failure to agree on the 2-degree target "would mean that every country takes the liberty of carrying on" as they have to date, the chancellor said.
