Copenhagen Climate Summit - what can be accomplished?

[Palo_Verde]

192 countries are attending the biggest talks concerning the global climate in history. They are there to discuss emissions cuts and financial measures to combat climate change.

Will anything concrete be accomplished? Will this be the first step on the road to real change, or just more talk with little action?

[Palo_Verde]

Time Magazine says this about it:

To advocates of action on global warming, the Copenhagen summit represents the last, best chance to slow and eventually reverse the growth in greenhouse-gas emissions before climate change begins to spin out of control. To skeptics of climate change, many of whom will attend the conference, Copenhagen is the last defense of another kind — against the growing global momentum to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, an undertaking they think could cripple the international economy. Either way, it is likely to be the most important international environmental conference in history…

That is really making it sound like a make or break event.

[DanBlather]

Maybe they should tell nations that do not cooperate that the rest of the world will not step in and help them if their coastline is flooded or if climate change causes a drought.

[Mighty_Mouse]

@DanBlather

Maybe they should tell nations that do not cooperate that the rest of the world will not step in and help them if their coastline is flooded or if climate change causes a drought.

No one would believe such a threat, so what would be the point?

[Shamozzle]

To what extent are China and India involved in the meeting? The future is in their hands if you ask me.

[Palo_Verde]

A bit of a scandal has broken out:

Three hours after the “Danish text” had been leaked to the Guardian, Lumumba Di-Aping, the Sudanese chairman of the group of 132 developing countries known as G77 plus China, spelt out exactly why the poor countries he represents were so incensed. “The text robs developing countries of their just and equitable and fair share of the atmospheric space. It tries to treat rich and poor countries as equal,” said the diplomat.

The text is a draft proposal for the final political agreement that should be signed by national leaders including Barack Obama and Gordon Brown at the end of the Copenhagen summit on 18 December. It was prepared in secret by a group of individuals known as “the circle of commitment” but understood to include the US and Denmark.

[furt]

@Mighty_Mouse

No one would believe such a threat, so what would be the point?

Not to mention that it’d be no threat to the US, which generally receives no outside aid during natural disasters anyway.

[Cat_Whisperer]

Is that “circle of commitment” the one with Oprah and Bill Gates? Alberta has a lot invested in this Climate Summit, but I agree - if China, India, and the US don’t do something serious, I really don’t want to see 2 million Albertans put out of work for some nebulous plan of “helping the environment” when the biggest players aren’t participating.