Host of COP15 and Danish Minister of Climate and Energy, Connie Hedegaard had the following remark to Todd Stern's speech:
"It was a very strong speech: President Obama’s climate envoy made it clear that a new global agreement must be guided by science. He also pointed out that the US has a big responsibility. It is economically better to act now rather than wait, due to the cost of inaction. Finally, he underlined that Copenhagen is the place where an agreement must be reached.
Now the United States and all other countries have to come up with concrete solutions about how to deal with the climate challenge in 2020, which is necessary in order to live up to the strong commitment of being science-based. This will be the litmus test of the commitment. But like Todd Stern said in his speech: The US is glad to be back in the negotiations. For my part I can assure the delight is mutual."