This site makes extensive use of JavaScript, for the best browsing experience we recommend you enable JavaScript in your browser.
The Global Citizen: Copenhagen
The Copenhagen climate talks began today amid much excitement, anxiety and hope. As representatives from around the world negotiate key issues such as emissions reduction commitments and monetary assistance to developing countries, they should keep in mind one goal that will facilitate the agreement to and monitoring of all other climate deals: establishing a common metrics for measuring and declaring emissions reductions.
The climate talks in Copenhagen received a positive push this week, but we need to push further still. The governments of U.S. and China have announced that their heads of state will be representing their countries in Copenhagen, and that they will bring reduction commitments to the table. These are encouraging steps, but much more needs to be achieved in Copenhagen. For one, China's goals to mitigate climate change have been expressed in terms of reducing carbon intensity, rather than in terms of reducing the amount of emissions released.
Giving a boost to the upcoming Copenhagen climate talks, the White House has announced that President Obama himself will be attending the negotiations that aim to develop an international climate change agreement. An administration official has also revealed that Obama will commit to cutting U.S. emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, the target of the House bill (Waxman-Markey bill) that was passed this June.
Many thought that the upcoming Copenhagen conference next month would lead to a global agreement on climate change. However, it seems as though we will have to wait a little longer.
As the clock on the Kyoto Protocol is ticking down to expiration, the importance of the upcoming U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is growing. A multilateral, enforceable treaty, setting limits on carbon emissions would be the ideal outcome. However, as the dates for the conference are getting closer, the actual goals are getting smaller. On October 28, 2008, U.N.
The United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen is set for December 7th through December 18th 2009. The main goal of this conference is to create an international treaty that establishes a global climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. The target of the Kyoto Protocol was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2% of 1990 levels by 2010.
Topics
- Arms Control (21)
- Become a Member (8)
- Capitol Hill (180)
- CGS Political Action Committee (PAC) (14)
- Chapters (5)
- Civilian Protection (211)
- Climate Change (81)
- Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) (3)
- Congressional Report Card (9)
- Current Campaigns (8)
- Election News & Analysis (103)
- Fellows (2)
- Gender Based Violence (21)
- Genocide Prevention (172)
- Get Involved (70)
- Home (4)
- Human Rights (274)
- Human Rights Council (50)
- International Criminal Court (312)
- International Criminal Justice (74)
- Law & Justice (319)
- Law of the Sea Treaty (59)
- Nuclear Disarmament (81)
- Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) (3)
- Other (44)
- PAC: 2010 Election Endorsements (3)
- Partners for Global Change (3)
- Peacekeeping (154)
- Prevent War (200)
- Rights of the Child Treaty (11)
- Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) (23)
- Support Us (7)
- Take Action (36)
- Tax Deductible Giving (3)
- UN Funding (118)
- UN Reform & Revitalization (52)
- United Nations (398)
- usaforicc.org (2)
- WFI (2)
- Women's Rights Treaty (CEDAW) (51)
Archive
- May 2012 (20)
- April 2012 (36)
- March 2012 (34)
- February 2012 (24)
- January 2012 (30)
- December 2011 (36)
- November 2011 (64)
- October 2011 (38)
- September 2011 (40)
- August 2011 (36)
- July 2011 (62)
- June 2011 (66)
