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Merkel to push for climate pact in US Congress
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-31 21:54

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will urge the US Congress to support an international pact to combat climate change in her address to the House and Senate next week. Merkel said Saturday she would use her upcoming visit to Washington to push for US support for a follow-on agreement to the Kyoto Protocol that is to be debated at a December summit in Copenhagen.

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The US Congress has yet to approve emissions targets for the United States, leaving US negotiators hamstrung.

Merkel said the remaining weeks must be used to "prepare with our American partners" for a successful summit. A panel of UN scientists has recommended that developed countries make cuts of 25 to 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.