(Thumbnail image from Flickr user suburbanbloke)
“World leaders want to delay a deal on climate change. President Barack Obama and other premiers want to push back the date when a legally binding pact is signed until 2010 or even later. That comes with less than a month until climate talks kick off in Copenhagen on December the 7th. That means the summit won’t produce a final treaty. European negotiators say delaying the pact doesn’t mean the proposals to cap carbon emissions will be watered down.” (Footage from CNBC)
As world leaders prepare to meet next month in Copenhagen, the expectations for a new climate change pact are becoming more and more bleak. We’re looking at perspectives from BBC News, CNN, Politico and The New York Times.
British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband tells BBC News that rather than trying to strike an all-inclusive deal, it would be smarter to just set long term goals at next month’s meeting.
“If we can get a very clear set of commitments from the world’s leaders in Copenhagen on how they’re going to cut their emissions – not just Europe, not just the United States – but India, China, and other countries, then that will be a very major step forward.”
CNN reports that Prime Minister Anders Rasmussen of Denmark has greater ambitions. He came to the APEC meeting in Singapore to pitch a new plan, hoping to get some commitment to climate change at the summit next month.
“He came to lay out a plan to get some sort of agreement from the APEC leaders. He’s calling it a one-agreement, two-steps plan. What he’s looking for is to try and get a politically binding agreement at Copenhagen in December and then the next step would be an international legally binding commitment.”
But that could be unrealistic, says Politico's Lisa Lerer. Attempts to pass real climate change could be complicated even more by domestic politics in the United States. Problems at home like health care have prevented the United States Senate from even debating a climate change bill before Copenhagen.
“Top administration officials say that U.S. negotiators are unable to commit to any 'hard and fast' agreements without having a bill through the Senate.”
Climate change experts say that leaders are trying to avoid another Bali incident, where in 2007 it seemed like most world leaders were on board with policy changes, but nothing ever came to fruition.
Andrew Revkin of The New York Times reports in his blog Green Inc. that lowering the expectations for the summit could be a blessing in disguise.
“Having leaders of the world's established and emerging powers take away the drama now could ease the burden on functionaries diving in to resolve enormously complicated issues next month.”
So what do you think? Will a climate change agreement come out of the summit in Copenhagen? Or will we see a repeat of agreements like Bali and Kyoto?
Writer & Producer: Justin Wolfgang
