Lawmakers: Pelosi to lead delegation to climate-change summit in Copenhagen

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to lead a congressional delegation (codel) to the climate change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, according to GOP lawmakers invited to go on the trip.

House Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) said on Tuesday that he would be accompanying the Speaker on the codel.

“I will be going to Copenhagen as a part of the official delegation that Speaker Pelosi is leading," Barton said.

The delegation, expected to comprise around 20 members, will be in Copenhagen next week as the summit heads toward its conclusion, lawmakers said.



Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), ranking member of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, said on Tuesday that he was charged with choosing the GOP lawmakers to accompany the distinguished delegation.



Pelosi’s office would not confirm details of the trip. Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said the trip will depend on the schedule of the House, adding that “a bipartisan group of members has expressed interest in attending."



The House is scheduled to be in session and is trying to finish a jobs bill by the end of next week. Hammill said Pelosi’s first priority “is the unfinished business of the House."

President Barack Obama announced last week he would attend the end of the two-week conference. He intends to be in Copenhagen on Dec. 18, the final day of the two-week conference. 



Republicans on Sensenbrenner’s list include Barton, Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Darrell Issa (Calif.) and Select Committee member Rep. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.).



Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the co-author of Senate climate change legislation, plans to attend the conference, as does Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Climate change is Pelosi’s flagship issue. The House passed her signature cap-and-trade legislation in June by a vote of 219-212. A similar measure is expected to be taken up by the Senate in the spring.