Representatives from the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, such as the United States, China, and India, will be attending a forum at the U.S. State Department on Monday to work towards a U.N. agreement to address global warming. The purpose of the two-day meeting is to kickstart climate negotiations leading up to a December deadline in Copenhagen, where the international community will seek a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver the opening remarks, and discussions are expected to cover technology cooperation and other related issues. The major economies involved in the forum include Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and the United States. Denmark, which is hosting the December meeting, has also been invited to attend. Environmentalists and other stakeholders believe that the United States' commitment to addressing climate change is crucial for any global agreement to be successful. Jake Schmidt from the Natural Resources Defense Council activist group stated, "Without U.S. leadership, a global warming agreement in Copenhagen will be largely unattainable." President Barack Obama has emphasized the connection between combating climate change and supporting the economy in turmoil, and has called for the reinvigoration of the major economies process initiated by his predecessor George W. Bush. The efforts of the Bush administration were met with skepticism by many participants and were viewed as a diversion from the main U.N. climate change negotiations. Obama's strategy for addressing climate change involves reducing U.S. emissions by approximately 15 percent by 2020, aiming to bring them back to 1990 levels. Unlike his predecessor Bush, who opposed the Kyoto Protocol and any broad limits on greenhouse gas emissions, Obama's administration has been advocating for action on climate change. They have recently declared that carbon dioxide emissions pose a threat to human health and welfare, allowing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate them as pollutants. While no regulations have been implemented yet, Obama prefers legislative action over regulation. Legislation is currently being discussed in the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, with former Vice President Al Gore urging the passage of a carbon-capping law this year. Todd Stern, the U.S. special envoy for climate change, did not give specific details on what the United States must present in December at Copenhagen to show U.S. leadership. However, he mentioned that the Obama administration's strategy is vastly different from the Bush administration's. Stern stated that the Bush team was not primarily seeking an international agreement, whereas the current administration is aiming for a significant, potentially transformative level of cooperation in the international arena.