Copenhagen Climate Accord Expectations Not High

Copenhagen climate accord expectations not high

BY Mohammed Arifeen

The world leaders gathered recently at Bella Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to thrash out the problems of climate change and find long term solvents to combat its repercussions. In this Copenhagen climate summit there was little chance that both developed and under developed countries could agree on emission level that can decline the global warming. According to John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, “there are no targets for carbon cuts and no agreement on a legally binding treaty.”  

The main objective of the conference was to create better understanding and world wide consciousness to avoid climate change and global warming and to establish a new climate accord to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012. The three major agenda included in the Copenhagen conference were emission target of industrialized countries, emission cut of major developing countries and financing of reduced emissions.

In the Copenhagen summit leading countries announced targets of greenhouse emission cuts. Brazil would reduce by 36 percent while China would lessen carbon intensity by 40-45 percent level. United States on the other hand is expected to reduce its carbon emission by 17 percent by 2020 and a 42 percent by 2030.

India being the sixth largest polluter and a powerful candidate of world power was not very clear in announcing its target of greenhouse emission cuts. It said that it would consider voluntarily by 20-25 percent on purely domestic level.  It however took a bold stand collectively with the developing countries in pressurizing the rich countries to reduce greatly the greenhouse emission. It must be remembered that Indo Pak sub continent which is surrounded on three sides by the ocean and has glacier in the north will be threatened by drastic climate change.

Over all there were differences about emission targets, with the United proposing 17 percent reduction below 2005 levels by 2020, while developing countries including China and India are demanding 40 percent.

To cope with the impact of climate change the five advanced nations promised to deliver $30 billion in aid for developing nations over the next three years and outlined a goal of providing $100 billion a year by 2020 to assist least developed countries to grapple with the impact of climate change. There is no clear mention of where the money would come from. The pledge of substantial fund is too short on detail. To provide fund to poor countries United States proposed the idea of a new climate fund to be supervised by Washington based World Bank as its trustee. In this connection the developing countries did not agree and they wanted a new body to have a control of the fund. There were also differences about the fund among the European bloc in this matter.