US President Barack Obama has decided to attend the end of the Copenhagen climate change summit, instead of just the beginning as originally planned. The White House stated that this change is due to the increasing momentum towards a new global agreement on climate change. Many world leaders, including Obama, are expected to attend the summit in hopes of reaching a meaningful accord to address the global threat of climate change. Danish officials are optimistic that the conference will help pave the way for a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol. The White House stated that the president believes his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference on December 18th, rather than December 9th, will be most productive based on his discussions with other leaders and progress already made in negotiations. The Obama administration is encouraged by recent commitments from China and India to reduce emissions and the increasing agreement on providing financial support to help developing countries address climate change. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and a spokesman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown both welcomed Obama's decision, emphasizing the growing momentum towards reaching a ambitious climate agreement in Copenhagen. The United States plans to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 at the conference. It was the final major industrialized country to establish a goal for reducing greenhouse gases in a UN-led effort to combat the increasing global temperatures that could result in more extreme weather events, desertification, flooding, and rising sea levels. Experts anticipate that the Copenhagen meeting will come to a political agreement that includes targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by wealthy nations by 2020. The decision on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol will be postponed until 2010. The White House reported that Obama had talked about the progress of negotiations with leaders from Australia, Germany, France, and the UK. There seemed to be a growing agreement that a key component of the Copenhagen accord should be to secure commitments totaling $10 billion annually by 2012 to assist developing nations in dealing with the impacts of climate change. The statement said that the United States will pay its fair share of the amount, with other countries also making substantial commitments. Environmentalists praised Obama's decision and urged him to adjust his administration's emissions reduction target accordingly. Martin Kaiser of Greenpeace International stated that Obama had responded to global pressure and recognized the significance of the upcoming meeting. Kaiser emphasized the need for Obama to align his emission reduction targets and financial contributions with the requirements of climate science.