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ByKarlRitter and Sylvie Corbet The Associated Press LE BOURGET, FRANCE With dramatic vows to save fu- ture generations from an overheated planet, the larg- est gathering ever of world leaders began two weeks of talks Monday aimed at producing the most far- reaching pact yet to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and avert environmental havoc. "We should ask what will we say to our grand- children if we fail," British Prime Minister David Cam- eron said as the U.N. climate summitopenedunder heavy security on the outskirts of Paris, two weeks after the extremist attacks that left 130 people dead. "Instead of making excuses tomor- row, let's take action today." Even before the gather- ing, more than 180 coun- tries pledged to cut or curb their emissions, but sci- entific analyses show that much bigger reductions would be needed to limit man-made warming of the Earth to 2 degrees Centi- grade (3.8 degrees Fahr- enheit) over pre-industrial times, the internationally agreed-upon goal. The biggest issue facing the 151 heads of state and government at the summit is who should bear most of the burden of closing that gap: wealthy Western na- tions that have polluted the most historically, or devel- oping countries like China and India that are now the biggest and third-biggest emitters of greenhouse gases? "Addressing climate change should not deny the legitimate needs of de- veloping countries to re- duce poverty and improve living standards," Chinese leader Xi Jinping told the conference. The last major climate agreement, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, required only rich countries to cut emissions, and the U.S. never signed on. Since then, global tem- peratures and sea levels have continued to rise, and the Earth has seen an ex- traordinary run of extreme weather, including severe droughts and storms. This new round of talks seeks to produce an agree- ment that would require all countries, rich and poor, to take action. While the specifics have yet to be worked out, the pact is meant to chart a path toward reduced reli- ance on coal, oil and gas and expanded use of renew- able energy such as wind and solar power. The negotiations will fo- cus on whether emissions targets should be binding or voluntary and how to verify that countries are hitting their targets. An- other big issue will be how to provide the finance and technology that develop- ing countries will need to reduce their emissions and cope with the effects of ris- ing seas, intensifying heat waves and floods. "The future of the peo- ple of the world, the future of our planet, is in your hands," U.N. Secretary-Gen- eral Ban Ki-moon told ne- gotiators in his opening re- marks. "We cannot afford indecision, half measures or merely gradual approaches. Our goal must be a transfor- mation." China and India say they want the agreement to clearly reflect that indus- trialized nations bear the biggest responsibility for the problem. President Barack Obama offered assurances that the U.S. isn't trying to shirk its duty. "I've come here per- sonally, as the leader of the world's largest econ- omy and the second-larg- est emitter, to say that the United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it," Obama told the conference. Statistics since 1959 from the U.S. Department of En- ergy show the United States has been by far the big- gest emitter of carbon di- oxide, the top man-made greenhouse gas. It has re- leased about 258 trillion tons of carbon dioxide over the past half-century, com- pared with China's 158 tril- lion tons, the figures show. China is catching up, though, and is now the world's biggest greenhouse gas polluter, accounting for 28 percent of the world's current emissions — twice as much as the United States. Beijing has pledged to put a ceiling on its emis- sions around 2030 as part of the latest negotiations. Developing countries say they need financial support and technology to make the transition to cleaner energy. On the bustling first day of the conference, a number of such initiatives were an- nounced, including one backed by 19 governments and 28 leading global in- vestors, including Bill Gates and Facebook's Mark Zuck- erberg. Their initiative would provide billions of dollars in investments to research and develop clean energy technology, with the ul- timate goal of making it cheaper and more reliable. Separately, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Fran- cois Hollande unveiled an initiative to get rich and poor countries to cooperate on expanding solar power. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS World leaders gather to save Earth from overheating JACKYNAEGELEN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS U.S. President Barack Obama, second le , and Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, right, poses with world leaders for a group photo at the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Le Bourget, outside Paris, on Monday. By Mary Clare Jalonick The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Obama administration is boosting the amount of corn-based ethanol and other renew- able fuels in the U.S. gas- oline supply despite sus- tained opposition by an unusual alliance of oil com- panies, environmentalists and some GOP presidential candidates. The Environmental Pro- tection Agency on Monday issued a final rule designed to increase production of ethanol to be blended with gasoline through 2016, a de- cision that could reverber- ate in Iowa's crucial presi- dential caucuses. The agency said it will re- quire more than 18 billion gallons of renewable fuels, most of it ethanol, in 2016. The amount is less than was set in a 2007 renewable fu- els law, but more than was proposed by the EPA in May. The decision doesn't nec- essarily mean a higher per- centage of ethanol in an in- dividual driver's tank, and isn't likely to have much effect on gas prices. But it does mean there will a higher supply of the home- grown fuel overall. Janet McCabe, the acting assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, said the renew- able fuels industry is "an in- credible American success story" and the 2016 targets are a signal it is growing. "It's all about more choice and making those fu- els more available" to con- sumers, she said. More renewable fuels are good news for farm country. But ethanol critics say the levels are too high. Oil companies have spent many years fighting the 2007 law, saying the mar- ket, not the government, should determine how much ethanol is blended into their gas. Environ- mental groups say farmers growing large amounts of corn for ethanol are tear- ing up the land. And con- servatives like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running for the Republican presi- dential nomination, call the government's longtime sup- port for ethanol "corporate welfare." The renewable fuels law sought to address global warming, reduce depen- dence on foreign oil and bolster the rural economy by requiring a steady in- crease in the overall amount of ethanol and other renew- able fuels blended into gas- oline over time. The Re- newable Fuel Standard, as it is called, sets out specific yearly targets. Since then, the EPA has said the standards set by the law cannot be fully reached due partly to lim- its on the amount of renew- able fuels other than etha- nol that can be produced. Next-generation biofuels, made from agricultural waste such as wood chips and corncobs, have not taken off as quickly as Con- gress required and the ad- ministration expected. Still, the new rule set- ting targets for 2015, 2016 and retroactively for 2014 would represent an overall increase in the use of re- newable fuels. The new standards come as President Barack Obama and other world leaders are meeting in Paris to finalize an agreement to cut carbon emissions worldwide, and the administration says this will help achieve that goal. Some studies have called into question whether that is the case, however. The new targets are a victory for the ethanol in- dustry, which aggressively pushed back on a 2013 pro- posal that would have de- creased the amount of eth- anol mixed into fuel. After the announcement, some ethanol companies and farm groups said they were pleased the EPA had increased the numbers from previous proposals. But they still expressed frustration that the standards were less than in the law, something the agency has the power to do if it thinks the goals can- not be met. Failing to meet the stan- dards is "to the detriment of economic prosperity in ru- ral America," said National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. Farm-state lawmakers — and some presidential can- didates wanting to win over voters in farm states like Iowa — have successfully pushed back on calls from opponents to lower ethanol levels or repeal the stan- dards. So far, critics have had little luck getting past those supporters to change the policy in Congress. In the presidential race, Democrat Hillary Clinton has called for robust re- newable fuels standards, and her fellow Democrats have also been supportive. ENERGY EPA boosts amount of ethanol, other renewable fuels in gasoline supply Advertisement IfthiswasyourService Directory ad customers would be reading it right now!! 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