South Africa and the US Take Further Steps to Combat Climate Change - UNEP Press Release

Washington, 8 December 2009 - The UN climate convention meeting has been given further boosts after South Africa and now the United States through its Environmental Protection Agency announced moves to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

The announcements come in the wake of proposals and pledges from numerous developed and developing economies in the run up to the crucial event in the Danish capital of Copenhagen including from China and India as well as Brazil, Indonesia, Japan and the European Union.
The US EPA says that it will start to regulate greenhouse gases as a pollutant dangerous to human health. The announcement, covering all six greenhouse gases under the UN Kyoto Protocol, will utilize existing legislation under the Clean Air Act.

"It means that we arrive at the climate talks in Copenhagen with a clear demonstration of our commitment to facing this global challenge," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was reported as saying.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, said: "The announcement that the US EPA will regulate greenhouse gas emissions signals the renewed commitment of the United States towards sealing a convincing deal in Copenhagen. Alongside the commitment and pledges by numerous developed and developing economies, it can help to start bridging the practical and political gaps between where the world is, and where it needs to be by 18 December."

Citing scientific evidence it has been studying since April 2007, the EPA said greenhouse gases "threaten the public health and welfare of the American people" and that the pollutants should be reduced.