UN Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen addresses countries' hopes to improve global climate
By: Tess Isabel Nepstad
Issue date: 12/10/09 Section: Opinion
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The annual UN Climate Change conference takes place from Dec. 7th through the 18th in Copenhagen, Denmark this year. Scientists and political leaders see this conference as a crucial turning point for climate change policy on the international and national level. World leaders will be negotiating future political actions concerning climate change.
The climate change issue has been tossed up for debate in the United States in the past, though it has often been neglected and pushed to the bottom of political agendas. Former President George W. Bush failed to sign the Kyoto Protocol to cut global emissions at the UN conference in Copenhagen in 2005, as he believed the treaty would hurt the United States economy and dependence on oil. However, President Obama has begun to address the issue of climate change as a key concern for United States policy.
Recent and more frequent changes in weather and rising sea levels have proved that climate change is an ever-growing concern with human activity as the source of increased greenhouse gas emissions. While we are able to see the subtle changes in the weather of South Hadley, other parts of the world are experiencing other changes, some more drastic than others.
Although China, the United States, and the European Union are the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, other countries are bearing the burden. Regions in the Southern hemisphere are facing heat waves from global warming that are causing massive droughts. Many developing nations are in these areas and are unable to meet the costs to overcome the problems of drought that are currently threatening survival. In the Arctic Poles, warming temperatures are melting ice glaciers, causing sea levels to rise. As developed nations continue to increase their energy output, greenhouse gas emissions are escalating. Developed nations need to take responsibility for their actions, and find long-term solutions to global climate change.
As the labeled culprits for global emissions, leaders from China, the United States, India, and European nations will play vital roles in the negotiations in Copenhagen. China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao will announce a plan to cut China’s emission by 45 percent. President Obama will be announcing the United States’ plan to reduce their emissions by 17 percent. As leaders are beginning to view climate change as more of an urgent cause of concern, the UN conference is being taken more seriously. President Obama had originally planned to attend the conference in the first week of the meetings, but has moved his visit to the last day of the conference when other key leaders will be in attendance and negotiations will be finalized. Obama encouraged the Prime Minister of India to attend the conference, as India is the fifth highest contributor to global emissions. The decisions made by the leading carbon-emitting countries will help shape the future for everyone.
Once climate change is a a global problem, everyone must do their part. Climate change is no longer an issue solely to be dealt with by political leaders, but the duty of every individual to adapt to the changes in the environment that we have created ourselves.
For updates on the daily negotiations and debates at the conference in Copenhagen, visit www.cop15.dk.