Countdown to Copenhagen

There are now fewer than 100 days remaining until the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties 15 (COP-15) meets in Copenhagen, Denmark. COP-15 begins December 7 and lasts until December 18, as delegates from around the world come together to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in 2012. The Kyoto Protocol is the international agreement that limits the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that cause climate change. The United States, the world’s largest emitter of GHG emissions, did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, limiting the treaty’s effectiveness. (Although the United States was extremely involved in the negotiations and President Clinton signed the Kyoto Protocol, it was not ratified by the Senate.) Participating nations in the upcoming conference believe it vital that any new agreement successfully address the concerns of all nations to ensure an appropriate international response to the urgent threat of climate change.

Momentum has been building in the United States for the Copenhagen negotiations. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated that it is prepared to regulate carbon dioxide -- the most prevalent greenhouse gas -- under the Clean Air Act, all eyes are now on the Senate, which is working to pass a bill to regulate the nation’s GHG emissions. In June, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454), which includes a cap-and-trade program that would regulate 85 percent of emissions economy-wide. The Senate is in the process of drafting its own version of a climate bill, set to be released later this month.

Internationally, the European Union (EU) approved the “20/20 in 2020” plan in January 2008, under which the EU committed to cutting its GHG emissions 20 percent below the 1990 baseline by 2020. The Democratic Party of Japan, recent victors in Japan’s August election, has released a plan calling for a 25 percent reduction in GHG emissions below the 1990 baseline by 2020. Much attention has been given to China, which passed a resolution on August 27 calling for "draft laws and regulations based on practical circumstances to provide more vigorous legal backing for fighting climate change."

In preparation for December’s talks, the United Nations has declared September 21-25 Global Climate Week, and issued a petition on August 28 calling for millions of signatures to support a fair, effective, and ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen. The time for a serious global response to climate change is upon us.

For additional information see:
http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=1987v
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN31451301
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aqUTcGXMMB6A
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSPEK256106