Obama stresses US position as climate leader

President Obama said his second-term climate agenda will position the United States as an international leader that pushes large polluters like China and India to curb their greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. emits the second-most greenhouse gases in the world, behind China and ahead of India. Republicans who have criticized Obama’s climate push have noted that U.S. action alone cannot avert some of the catastrophic conditions climate scientists say will come if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius by century’s end.