The UN Climate Control Conference in Copenhagen has wrapped up with a treaty being signed by most of the countries in attendance. The Copenhagen Accord, which consisted of 12 paragraphs, was a statement of intent that was signed, but it is not a binding pledge. The pact was shaped primarily by five nations – the United States, Brazil, South Africa, India, and China.
Of course, not everyone is happy. Debates were heated, with the Sudanese delegate likened the treaty to a holocaust which would be a sentence of genocide for the people of his country and all of Africa.
In fact, many delegates left disgruntled because the document lacked what many felt were essential elements, including mid and long term reductions of emissions and deadline for a binding treaty next year. Among the countries that didn’t sign the pact were Venezuela, Cuba, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia.
So what came out of the Accord? Basically, nations agreed to cooperate to reduce emissions to keep temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (much to Tuvalu’s dismay), developing nations must report on their voluntary actions to reduce emissions every two years, wealthier nations will help fund a three year, $30 billion dollar deal to help poorer nations deal with issues brought about by climate change (such as drought) and help them develop clean energy, and eventually, there are plans for those countries to set aside $100 billion a year by 2020 for the same purposes. A lot of the things promised in the treaty rest on the shoulder of President Obama and America, both with reducing emissions and raising money.
What may hurt the most is many left feeling that the chaos that resulted from this year’s climate control conference, the 15th held by the UN, may signal the end of countries coming together to try to tackle the global warming problem. The first conference was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, but some feel that the process has become impracticable.
Next year’s climate control conference will be held in Mexico City.
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