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.

Today is a momentous day for global warming legislation, as the markup in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled to begin.  Yet, the day is tainted by the fact that the Republican Party plans to boycott the markup all together.  Not one of the seven Republicans on the panel plans to attend the meeting.  

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.

The global community has a moral obligation to reduce its greenhouse gases. Climate change talks in Copenhagen are set to begin in slightly over 46 days. And yet the United States is far from passing any legislation that would truly curb our greenhouse gas emissions below the scientific recommendations of 25-40 percent of 1990 levels. The House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. This bill, also known as the Waxman-Markey bill, proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by only 17 percent of 2005 levels, or in other words: 4 percent of 1990 levels.