On Capitol Hill, Republican senators have delayed consideration of a major climate bill that would impose curbs on emissions of greenhouse gases. On Tuesday, Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee shunned a vote on amendments to the Kerry-Boxer climate bill, delaying its introduction. The Republican boycott came as European leaders met with President Obama ahead of next month’s global climate summit in Copenhagen.

President Obama: “We discussed climate change extensively, and all of us agreed that it was imperative for us to redouble our efforts in the weeks between now and the Copenhagen meetings to assure that we create a framework for progress in dealing with what is a potential ecologic disaster.”

Obama has yet to announce whether he’ll attend the Copenhagen talks. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged a joint session of Congress to take strong action on climate change.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel: “We need an agreement on one objective: global warming must not exceed two degrees Celsius. To achieve this, we need the readiness of all countries to accept internationally binding obligations.”