WASHINGTON (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel is making the case for a global deal on climate change to a skeptical audience: members of the U.S. Congress.
Merkel is addressing both chambers this morning. It's a rare honor that's extended to America's closest allies, and not to a German chancellor since Konrad Adenauer in 1957. Merkel also met with President Barack Obama before the speech.
It's an opportunity for Germany to make a case to the lawmakers whose support will be crucial if the United States is to sign on to a new global climate deal that European leaders and Obama are seeking.
The speech comes less than a week after Merkel was sworn in for a second term. It also comes ahead of the 20th anniversary Nov. 9 of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Merkel is expected to highlight the trans-Atlantic cooperation that brought it down.
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