(Thumbnail image: Telegraph)

“While the reality of climate change is not in doubt, I have to be honest, as the world watches us today, I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now."

U.S. President Barack Obama called on world leaders to cut emissions in his Friday speech at the World Climate Conference in Copenhagen.

Mr. Obama’s appeal to developed nations to help fund emissions cutting programs is sparking critical international reaction. Some complain Mr. Obama flew to Denmark just to chastise conference members.

Many international sources were quick to rebuke Mr. Obama’s speech as an empty promise when world leaders were expecting more from him. Here’s The UK’s the Guardian and the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

“The lacklustre speech proved a huge frustration to a summit that had been looking to Obama to use his stature on the world stage – and his special following among African leaders – to try to come to an ambitious deal.”

“Obama was widely expected to make a forceful speech and possibly even a dramatic announcement. In the eyes of many delegates, he did neither."

France 24 reports the international delegations felt Obama should have given more specifics on how the United States could help achieve a binding climate pact.

“It wasn’t quite what people were hoping for. They were hoping for a ‘Yes we can’ attitude, but they feel they got a ‘Take it or leave it’ kind of a ‘My way or the highway’ sentiment from his speech. There was one French delegate who was standing beside me as Obama addressed the plenary session and he said he was very disappointed… He said that before obsessing about transparency, maybe the United States should be more concerned with putting up their money on the table.”

While the international media focused on the lack of a commitment in Mr. Obama's speech, domestic news organizations heralded the speech's hopeful tone. The New York Times writes on its blog The Caucus that Mr. Obama pressured leaders to agree without saying how the U.S. would play a role in any agreement.

“Mr. Obama gave an eight-minute speech during which he called on world leaders to come to an agreement on climate change, no matter how imperfect, and pressed for an accord that would monitor whether countries — primarily China — are complying with promised emissions cuts.”

Finally, Stephen Collinson of The South African Star writes that Obama took a political risk by pressuring foreign leaders into making a deal that he might not be able to find support for in Washington.

“Obama is wagering personal political prestige in the drive to agree on a new pact on curbing carbon emissions - but also tried to shore up his domestic flank, amid rising skepticism about a new climate bill back home.”

So what do you think? Was President Obama too harsh on foreign leaders without offering commitments from the U.S. or did world leaders need his appeal for an agreement in order to strike a deal?