Obama gets low marks on Climate Summit

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. poll says only 40 percent of Americans are happy with President Barack Obama's performance at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen.

The Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll, however, found 57 percent support the commitment to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by half, relative to 1990 levels, by 2020, the market research group Vision Critical said Tuesday.

The online survey of 1,005 U.S. adults found 42 percent welcome a promise to hold the increase in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius and 39 percent agree with a pact to set up a fund to help poorer nations cope with climate change.

The survey said 66 percent express little or no confidence in countries being able to reach the temperature goal and only 19 percent think the Copenhagen Accord will become legally binding in the future.

Among respondents who say they believe global warming is caused by human activity, 51 percent say they are content with Obama's performance in Copenhagen. In contrast, 39 percent of respondents who say global warming is caused by natural changes say they were happy with the president's performance. Just 21 percent of those who say global warming is an unproven theory were pleased with his performance.

The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.