committed to the ipcc process of international cooperation on global climate change. >> i am very pleased that the united states has reached a truly historic agreement with other nations of the world to take unprecedented steps. >> my administration has taken a rational balanced approach to these serious challenges. we believe we need to protect our environment. >> reporter: even president obama who came into office promising to lead the way came up short. he arrived at the copenhagen climate summit in 2009 amit huge expectations but the deal fell apart. >> i don't know how you have an international agreement where we all are not sharing information and ensuring that we are meeting our commitments. that doesn't make sense. it would be a hollow victory. >> reporter: the fact was president obama didn't have congressional support and everybody in copenhagen knew it.