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Good COP, bad COP?
On Monday United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer likened the COP15 talks to a cable car ride. [cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/12/17/clinton.art.jpg caption="Deal, or no deal?"]
Delegates were traveling to the summit and the ride was going to be “fast, smooth and relaxing”, he said.
But by Wednesday, the cable car had come to an “unexpected stop,” – some wished the same fate for the analogy – as delegates requested time to discuss the basis of further talks.
But with only hours of the U.N. summit remaining there are signs that the de Boer cable car is back on the move again ascending his imaginary mountain.
African nations – who were holding out for $400 billion in compensation from rich countries by 2020 – agreed yesterday to cut that demand to $100 billion. This slashing of compensation for the impacts of climate change has raised hopes that an historic treaty can be signed.
U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said Thursday the United States was ready to support the compensation package but reiterated the demand for greater accountability from the likes of China, India and Brazil on their pledges to cut emissions.
So as the final chaotic hours play out on the outskirts of Copenhagen, are we really that close to a deal? Or are negotiators going to emerge from the Bella Center essentially agreeing to disagree again?
Has what you have seen of the conference made you more or less optimistic that a coherent climate policy will ever be achieved? Post your comments below.
On Twitter
No big deal in Copenhagen. Words, words, words. The leades care only for their countries interests. Damned be the Planet! Shame on you CHINA, US and other polluters!
She should have been our president, because she has more backbone, than our president
Filled with ridiculous acts such as giving Mexico City Major an award and Hugo Chavez speach, is clear to me that the issue is not climate but politics.
As recent scientific and epistemological studies show clearly, an agreement of world leaders under the current global crisis, which is of enormous proportions, is unlikely to happen.
It's time we all unite to face humanitiy's greatest challenge ever since World War II. Climate Change it's a lethal danger that affects equally developed and non developed countries. Therefore we, non developed countries, must be up to the challenge and make more efforts to cut dow our emissions just as we would like developed countries to do so and invest in new, more efficient, energy sources.
But developed countries must also ve up to the moment. For me, at least, that means that the U.S., just as it did at World War II, must take the lead and set some damn good objectives and, by either using soft or hard power, make everybody else follow it's lead. I think those objectives have to do with asking for a better reduction of emissions than what the Kyoto treaty established. And this time they should set some binding elements in order to commit everybody to the task.
it's clear now that climate change just landed and is at the inmigration checkpoint. Now it's our time to reject it and send it back to it's origin. But as soon as it passes our inmigration checkpoint we will all be in grave danger. Right now Ecuador is going through it's worst drought and we're having daily blackouts, we are also having severe changes in our seatides that are destroying our coastal city's boardwalks. People are really afraid and evacuations have started.
No matter how much we want to debate the scientific causes of this event. What really matters is that i'm witnessing stuff that didn't happened 20 years ago when i was 5. I ask God to protect our Earth and our future in this dark hour, for our world leaders don't seem interest in that.
Copenhagen 2009.
A sham, of the " how we transfer the maximum amount of money to third
worlders" while the industrialized countries retain (read,write) the cap and trade rights to emit pollution permits, those billions about to be transferred will wind up in discreet swiss bank accounts or in the pockets of Wall Street having sold the world through persistent lies that the world will overheat in the very short term .
Does anybody believe anything anymore where 15000 bureaucrats from 198 countries meet in Copenhagen where they run out of limos to move these people around town while emitting 41000 tons of CO2 into the nordic air .......................
Could somebody please explain to me, how much will the word temperature drop in degrees C after investing 100 billion dollars to reduce it? 300 billion? Come on, please!
more money is spent in going after the taliban in afghanistan, killing terrorists in iraq, rescuing the banks on wall street and perhaps paying the bonuses of fat cat bankers than helping developing countries fight climate change. talking about accountability and transparency indeed. the world is in this state today because of developed countries and their ride to power on the wheels of industrialization. they are more concerned about losing their edge against up and coming developing countries than to care about the sinking pacific island nations. unfortunately it may be too little too late when new york city starts sinking as well.
howie mandel of deal or no deal is a super great host**~
Deal Or No Deal is one of the best shows that i always watch, i love the briefcase girls too `