UPDATE 1-White House says Canada could do more on climate ahead of Paris talks

(Adds quotes and additional background)
By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The White House said on
Tuesday the new Canadian government could do more to address
climate change ahead of international negotiations on the issue
next month in Paris, a top priority for President Barack Obama
in his 15 months remaining in office.
Obama was expected to phone Canada's Prime
Minister-designate Justin Trudeau on Tuesday to congratulate him
on his party's win on Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest
told reporters, hinting that climate could be part of the
discussion.
"Canada has also made a substantial and important commitment
in advance of the Paris climate talks. We believe that it's
possible that there is more that Canada can do in this regard,"
Earnest told reporters at a briefing.
Trudeau had pledged during his campaign to try to repair the
Canada-U.S. relationship, which has been strained by the long
delay in a decision on the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, which
had been backed strongly by outgoing Prime Minister Stephen
Harper.
"I think it would be shortsighted to reduce the relationship
between our two countries to just one issue," Earnest said.
He said the completion of the Canadian election was unlikely
to affect the timing of a U.S. State Department decision on the
pipeline.
Obama still expects to make a decision on the pipeline,
designed to run from Canada to Texas, before leaving office in
January 2017, Earnest said.
The White House hopes the new Canadian government will
continue to support the efforts of the U.S.-led coalition to
fight Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, Earnest said.
Trudeau had pledged during the campaign to withdraw Canada's
CF-18 bombers from the coalition fight.
"The Obama administration and the United States will be in
talks with our Canadian partners about their contribution to our
counter-ISIL effort," Earnest said, using an acronym for Islamic
State.
"We hope that we can continue to count on their ongoing
support for this very important mission."