EU climate chief to huddle with White House, State officials

The European Union’s climate minister is heading to Washington, D.C., for meetings with senior Obama administration officials as the White House is vowing to confront global warming during President Obama’s second term.

European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard will meet Friday with Obama aide Michael Froman, the deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, as well as Todd Stern, the State Department’s special envoy for climate change.

The schedule also includes a visit with Bob Perciasepe, the acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

On Thursday Hedegaard is meeting with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who recently launched a bicameral climate task force, among other items on the itinerary.

Click here for more about her planned meetings.

While Hedegaard visits the U.S. regularly for meetings, the new trip arrives as Obama’s pledges — in his second inaugural address and recent State of the Union speech — are attracting attention in Europe.

“Regarding the global challenges, France took note with great hope of President Obama’s statements regarding the necessity of acting urgently, given the climate disturbances,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Wednesday during a joint appearance in Paris with Secretary of State John Kerry.

“We know John Kerry’s longstanding commitment in this respect, and it will be one of the priorities for our discussions in the months to come,” he said.

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