As luck may have it, I have the fortunate timing to be studying in southern Sweden during this period and will most likely have the ability to visit Copenhagen (a 4 hour train ride from my university) during the negotiations.
The Copenhagen talks will mark the last conference from which a set of strategies and goals will be established and agreed upon (as much as possible at least) between countries. Building up to the event, known as COP15, there have been many talks and discussions, the most recent of which happened this past week at the G8 Summit in Italy.
At the Summit, leaders agreed that it is imperative to keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius (about 4 degrees Fahrenheit). In order to reach this goal, the International Energy Agency estimates that US funding in energy efficiency and clean technologies needs to quadruple in order to meet the target. The recent stimulus package allocated 100 billion US$ to green energy investments - in fact, 400 billion US$ will need to be spent annually for the next 20 years if we want to reach this goal.
Despite understanding the true implications of what must be done to lessen our impact on the planet, it's nice to finally see the US stepping up and recognizing its' significant role on climate change and therefore taking a larger leadership role. It reminds me of a quote from Hillary Clinton: "America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America."
However, the G8 Summit also brought up a few issues which must be further worked out before COP15. Although the US and other developed countries are currently the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, it is predicted that developing countries will soon emit more than developed countries (according to the EPA). Two significant developing countries to watch are China and India. Countries such as these claim that it is unfair for countries who have already experienced growth and significant development to limit developing countries by capping everyone's emissions levels. With populations significantly growing in Asia, it is important that whatever decisions are reached in COP15 must properly address the developmental needs of these countries while also recognizing the impact they will have on global warming.
For more information about COP15 and the issues surrounding the conference, check out the following websites:
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