On the heels of the Administration's announcement that it may offer a target for emissions cuts in Copenhagen, The Connect U.S. Fund, InterAction, USCAN and 1Sky issued a joint letter to President Obama suggesting ways in which the U.S. could generate climate finance for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries, the other necessary piece of securing a global deal.

The letter asks the President to build on his initiative at the G20 to end fossil fuel subsidies by initiating the phase out of those subsidies in the U.S. Specifically, it asks that the President:

• Instruct all federal agencies to end all U.S. support for fossil fuels that contribute to climate change, and that are not specifically appropriated as such, in particular via the export credit agencies and the international financial institutions. This includes instructing the U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank, and U.S. representatives to other multilateral development banks to vote against any such subsidies;

• Establish in principle, and pledge in Copenhagen, that money saved by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies will be devoted primarily to international climate finance efforts; and

• Propose an independent, standardized and regular reporting on fossil-fuel subsidies and an international framework including civil society participation for monitoring them.

The letter seeks to establish the principle that public money should no longer be used to support the fossil fuel industry, the primary contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, and should instead be used to finance a global clean energy transition and climate adaptation. Establishing that principle at this time, the writers state, "sends an important, historic message about our nation's priorities - and will solidify U.S. leadership on the international stage while helping to create more good jobs in a clean energy economy."