Extract from The Guardian
President says US and New Zealand will work closely together ahead of next year's climate change conference in Paris
- Australian Associated Press
The US president, Barack Obama, has praised New Zealand prime
minister John Key as a key ally in his crusade to tackle climate change.
While Australia may have dropped off as a partner with the election of Tony Abbott as prime minister, Obama says the US and New Zealand will work closely together ahead of next year's climate change conference in Paris, where the world's first global agreement could be hammered out.
The Kiwi prime minister visited the White House on Friday, a little over a week after Abbott met the president in the Oval Office.
Obama and Key were so cosy the president announced he would visit New Zealand, possibly later this year.
"I would love to come to New Zealand because I hear it is really nice," Obama said.
"I know the people are nice because I've had a chance to meet them.
We are going to be working with my schedule to see what I can come up with, if not this year, but certainly before the end of my presidency."
Obama and Key discussed a range of issues, including the ongoing negotiations for the 12-nation trade Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), North Korea, China and the world economy.
On the environment, Obama said the two nations would robustly work together ahead of Paris.
"We had a good conversation about climate change where New Zealand has been an excellent partner with us and other economies recognising that this is a threat that none of us can solve individually and we are going to have to work on together," Obama said.
"So we discussed our plans for putting forward robust action in 2015 with the upcoming Paris conference."
Key made headlines at a US Chamber of Commerce event in Washington DC on Thursday when he said Japan should be cut out of the TPP trade talks if it doesn't open up its markets to more farm imports.
Other potential TPP members are Australia, Canada, Peru, Malaysia, Singapore, Chile, Brunei, Vietnam and Mexico.
Obama had made a deadline for the TPP to be negotiated by the end of 2013, but now he hopes to have a deal close to being signed in November.
"We discussed a timeline where by before the end of the year we are able to get a document that can create jobs both in New Zealand and the United States and the other countries that are participating and expand wealth for all parties concerned," Obama said.
"Our hope is by the time we see each other again in November, when I travel to Asia, we should have something that we have consulted with Congress about, that the public can take a look at and we can make a forceable argument to go ahead and close the deal.
"But, we have a lot of work to do between now and then."
Key was also upbeat. "New Zealand and the United States have been the two partners, I think, in the Trans Pacific Partnership who have always believed in a high-quality, comprehensive deal," Key said.
While Australia may have dropped off as a partner with the election of Tony Abbott as prime minister, Obama says the US and New Zealand will work closely together ahead of next year's climate change conference in Paris, where the world's first global agreement could be hammered out.
The Kiwi prime minister visited the White House on Friday, a little over a week after Abbott met the president in the Oval Office.
Obama and Key were so cosy the president announced he would visit New Zealand, possibly later this year.
"I would love to come to New Zealand because I hear it is really nice," Obama said.
"I know the people are nice because I've had a chance to meet them.
We are going to be working with my schedule to see what I can come up with, if not this year, but certainly before the end of my presidency."
Obama and Key discussed a range of issues, including the ongoing negotiations for the 12-nation trade Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), North Korea, China and the world economy.
On the environment, Obama said the two nations would robustly work together ahead of Paris.
"We had a good conversation about climate change where New Zealand has been an excellent partner with us and other economies recognising that this is a threat that none of us can solve individually and we are going to have to work on together," Obama said.
"So we discussed our plans for putting forward robust action in 2015 with the upcoming Paris conference."
Key made headlines at a US Chamber of Commerce event in Washington DC on Thursday when he said Japan should be cut out of the TPP trade talks if it doesn't open up its markets to more farm imports.
Other potential TPP members are Australia, Canada, Peru, Malaysia, Singapore, Chile, Brunei, Vietnam and Mexico.
Obama had made a deadline for the TPP to be negotiated by the end of 2013, but now he hopes to have a deal close to being signed in November.
"We discussed a timeline where by before the end of the year we are able to get a document that can create jobs both in New Zealand and the United States and the other countries that are participating and expand wealth for all parties concerned," Obama said.
"Our hope is by the time we see each other again in November, when I travel to Asia, we should have something that we have consulted with Congress about, that the public can take a look at and we can make a forceable argument to go ahead and close the deal.
"But, we have a lot of work to do between now and then."
Key was also upbeat. "New Zealand and the United States have been the two partners, I think, in the Trans Pacific Partnership who have always believed in a high-quality, comprehensive deal," Key said.
No comments:
Post a Comment