Article: Copenhagen Climate Talks (UNFCCC)
Publisher: New York Times Online
Date: Dec. 8 2009
Rio de Janeiro (1992), Kyoto (1997) and Copenhagen (2009): the road to creating an international strategy for fighting global warming is a long one. In Rio de Janeiro, all 192 nations adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a basis for a world response to climate change; back then, no targets were set for reducing emissions. Instead, a system for sharing information on human caused emissions was established. The Kyoto Protocol established emission target: 37 industrialized nations and the European Union agreed to them (the US declined to ratify the pact).
However, the goals of the Kyoto Protocol have not been met; the differences between nations could not be resolved. Copenhagen’s goal is to create a political accord calling for reductions in emissions and aid from developing nations, therefore giving nations more time to work out their differences.
Setting the goals has proven difficult, as there remains a wide gap between wealthy industrialized countries and poor developing countries. The US and China play crucial roles in Copenhagen, as together they are responsible for 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Chinese are reluctant to accept ceilings for their emissions, claiming that the developing countries have had decades to pollute the environment without regulation, and should therefore have a greater responsibility in reducing them. In addition, it could the economic development of the developing nations. The US, on the other hand, cannot make any commitments beyond what congress is willing to approve.
The biggest problem lies within the finances: vast sums of money will be required to help fast-developing countries like India and Brazil convert to cleaner technologies. Representatives of these countries stated that they will need huge sums of money to deal with the consequences of climate change; some nations will only sign the treaty if financial aid is provided to them. Industrialized nations (e.g. US and European nations) are willing to provide this aid; however, no concrete plans have been made.
The major topics up for discussion at Copenhagen are mitigating climate change, potential adaptation strategies, new technologies and financing.
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