The Copenhagen Accord, Essay Example

Introduction

In 2009 the Copenhagen summit in Denmark was convened in order for countries to re-examine the impact of climate change on the world.  Also known as the UN Climate Change Conference it followed on to consider progress from the Kyoto protocol and address further needs resulting in the impact from global climate change. The international press reported that these talks were in complete disarray and were failing to meet any unified goals and objectives.  The accord had been drafted by the key nations of the USA, China, Brazil, India and South Africa ( the so called BRICS economies). The conference put forward the premise that Climate Change represented one of the most important issues that the world is facing today and there is a need for countries throughout the world to reduce the amount of harmful greenhouse gases being vented into our atmosphere. Unless deep cuts in emissions were made the long term consequences for the planet could prove disastrous.

Main features

The Accord had been structured into the following goals and objectives for the conference

Key goals of the conference

• To develop the political will framework for countries to support climate change initiatives
• To agree on the cuts in global emissions that were required from different countries
• How countries will adapt to the impacts of climate change and the counter responses being developed by countries throughout the world

Key objectives of the conference

• To decide upon and implement appropriate mitigation actions
• To reduce the amount of forest degradation and resulting emissions from this
• To establish more funding measures to support the program
• The appointment of a high level panel in order to monitor progress
• To complete an assessment of this accord for the next convention in 2015.

The difference between Copenhagen and previous accords

The main concern is the gap that is developing between the developing nations and that of the developed nations in the management of climate control. From the meeting in Kyoto many countries have failed to meet the pledges for climate control reduction figures.  This becomes even more grim when projecting out to 2020 and beyond.

Views of different countries

Many of the developing countries like China, Brazil and India felt that the conditions of the climate change initiatives were more skewed in favour of the developed countries and that they were being asked to take the brunt of the cuts.  This created a certain impasse between the 192 countries in terms of reaching a meaningful agreement on reductions. Ultimately it was President Obama of the USA that seized the initiative to form the nucleus of an agreement between China, India, Brazil, South Africa and the USA.  This was a step in the right direction but fell short of the requirements needed in order to seriously address the problem.

Conclusion

The importance and significance of global climate change still needs to be taken seriously by the worlds political leaders.  There still remains a wide degree of scepticism despite the scientific evidence being made available.  It is ultimately the question of a ‘tipping point’ when the impacts of global warming and climate change reach the point of no return and then we are looking at potential damage control for the future.  It has been hotly debated as to whether that point has already been past but there continues to remain hope and optimism that the international community will address these concerns before it is too late