Climate change advocacy groups are not happy with U.S. Climate Envoy Todd Stern's recent statement at Dartmouth College renouncing a limit of 2 degree celsius (2C) temperature rise as a global goal for UN climate negotiations. Stern said that agreeing to a framework to achieve the 2C goal would "only lead to deadlock" and that a new agreement should give countries "flexibility." 

Responding from Manila, Lidy Nacpil, Director of Jubile South - Asia Pacific Movement on Debt&Development, noted that 250,000 people have now fled their flooded homes and  said, "President Obama committed to a 2C global goal in Copenhagen in 2009 and again recently in Durban. Now, immediately before an election, he is walking away from his own weak policies. This backflip with a twist would win a Gold medal at the hypocrisy Olympics. It's breathtaking," 

Mohamed Adow, Christian Aid's expert on the international climate talks, said, "The 2C target was driven by the US and G8 countries. The poor and vulnerable states of Africa, the Pacific, and Latin America have been calling for 1.5C to avoid catastrophic climate impacts - but now the US is walking away from its own weak global target and pretending this is leadership. I'm glad to see that the EU and AOSIS countries are fighting back.

"Even with the 0.8C global temperature rise that has already occurred, the world is witnessing the disastrous effects of climate change and poor, vulnerable communities are unable to cope. If the 2C limit is abandoned, then the impacts will get dramatically worse and leave millions more people suffering from hunger, diseases, floods and other disasters."

Asad Rehman, Head of International Climate at Friends of the Earth EWNI, said, "Neither Presidential candidate is serious about confronting climate change. The rest of the world certainly knows it cannot count on the US to even negotiate in good faith on this issue."

So at least three groups aren't contending just one side hates the environment.