On December 7th, almost 200 nations sent delegates to Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP15. By holding this conference, the U.N. was hoping to get countries to develop new treaties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Several countries attending COP15, including the U.S., China, Brazil, and India, have already pledged climate goals before the conference. President Obama has set new goals at a 30 percent reduction of emissions by 2025 and an 80 percent reduction of emissions by 2050. What gave him a boost in doing this was the fact that just this week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named carbon dioxide as a dangerous pollutant.
Some still aren’t completely on board for the fact that emissions are causing the greenhouse effect. Some, such as George Will of The Washington Post, point out that the Earth has been in a state of flux for thousands of years and wonders if it is really man that is causing the change.
But, if you think this conference isn’t a big deal, know that thousands of protesters in Copenhagen took to the streets last Saturday to demand that a climate-change agreement be made. Police detained about 950 protesters, with all but thirteen eventually being released. About 40,000 people led a peaceful march to the center where the conference is being held.
Right now, word is that the chairmen of the conference are calling on developing nations to cut their emissions by 25 to 45 percent by 2020. To help these countries, the European Union has pledged $10.6 billion dollars.
The conference is set to end on December 18th. One ironic side note is that a group of British researchers have discovered that 41,000 tons of carbon dioxide will be generated for the delegates travel to the conference and housing and meals while there.
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