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The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release November 25, 2009
Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs; Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Mike Froman; and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Carol Browner

Press Secretary’s Office

EXCERPTED TODAY_____________________ PRESS CONFERENCE...##########

Q What’s your reaction to the British e-mails that have come out recently?

MS. BROWNER: I’ve read them. I don’t know that I have a reaction.

Q The Copenhagen talks are going from December 8th to the — or 7th to the 20th — 18th, something around that. And 65 heads of state will be attending at the end. Will the fact that Obama does not plan to be there make any agreement politically binding — or a political agreement at that point less legitimate?

MR. FROMAN: I think the President going to Copenhagen will give positive momentum to the negotiations, and we think will enhance the prospects for success.

Q Who will go then at the end?

MS. BROWNER: We’re releasing it today — we have a whole delegation of Cabinet members and other top officials who will be in attendance throughout the conference.

Q Will Al Gore go?

MS. BROWNER: I don’t know. You’d have to ask him.

Q Okay. But not as part of the delegation?

MR. GIBBS: I don’t know where he’s spending the night, either. (Laughter.)

MS. BROWNER: The U.S. delegation is made up of Cabinet members and senior White House officials, and we’re releasing that list today. Are we releasing when they’ll be there, the main —

MR. FROMAN: Yes.

MS. BROWNER: Yes, they’re coming at various different times throughout the two weeks, so you’ll see all of that. I think we have, what, six or seven Cabinet members going.

Q I hate to back you up on this, but those e-mails — I know they’re controversial, but they’re actually feeding the run-up to Copenhagen. You might have read them, but you know basically the gist of them, which is being used by opponents of this deal to say that the whole thing is made up. But you have to have more than just “I don’t have any reaction.”

MS. BROWNER: Well, first of all, we’ve all seen bits and pieces, we haven’t seen the full e-mails. But I think more importantly there has been for a very long time a very small group of people who continue to say this isn’t a real problem, that we don’t need to do anything. On the other hand, we have 2,500 of the world’s foremost scientists who are in absolute agreement that this is a real problem and that we need to do something and we need to do something as soon as possible.

What am I going to do, side with the couple of naysayers out there, or the 2,500 scientists? I’m sticking with the 2,500 scientists. I mean, these people have been studying this issue for a very, very long time, and agree that the problem is real.