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Countdown to Copenhagen: Obama’s in, but a deal is out
Just last week we heard some exciting news - President Obama will be attending the Copenhagen climate meeting beginning in just a few weeks. Well every silver lining has a cloud it seems, as it turns out he will be the bearer of bad news – he says it’s too late to reach a legally binding deal on how to prevent runaway climate change.
Green Energy Republic suggested a while back that the meeting should be postponed until something useful can come out of it. Obama is now supporting the Danish government’s call to re-purpose the meeting as establishing a “framework” for a deal, and that the legal deal date should be pushed back to 2010. The proposal was put forward by the Danes in an unscheduled meeting of 19 leaders (let’s call it an emergency meeting, in the spirit of optimism and hope that leaders are taking this business seriously) held in Singapore. Obama’s sound bite of the week was that we should not let the "perfect be the enemy of the good". Ah, climate change averted.
In one sense this is utterly pathetic. The international community has had ample time to prepare for this meeting, and yet all that has ensued is political stalemating.
On the other hand this is by far the most sensible option at this stage. To try and rush a legal agreement with huge debates unresolved and the US climate bill not even through the Senate could produce a fatally flawed document that nations would abandon very quickly.
Even to those of us feeling frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations, there are signs that the world is moving sluggishly towards a more unified vision, and that the crucial relationship between China and the US is a lot warmer than a year ago. At a meeting today between Obama and China’s president Hu Jintao positive noises have come out about at least setting emissions reduction targets in Copenhagen.
Copenhagen should be a diplomatic parliament used to get as much of the world as possible drawn towards a unified vision. The legalities should be ironed out next year.
For those who disagree, consider this: Five years ago, if an international meeting was called to deal with climate issues, and leaders weren’t ready to negotiate, would the delegates have considered stalling the meeting? No. They would have cobbled something useless together and ignored it. By delaying the meeting, leaders are acknowledging that it is worth delaying, and that they need to be prepared.
UK Climate Denial
What couldn’t have come at a worse time, is the recent poll labelling the UK as a bunch of climate deniers. The Times has reported that less than half the population believes human activity is responsible for climate change, and 15% of us believe the world is not warming. This is not the kind of thing Ed Miliband wants to be reading on a Monday morning, just weeks away from the meeting where he is supposed to be fighting for a strong climate deal, especially as he has pledged to fight on despite the above proposal. The government has tried, and seemingly failed to convince their voters that global warming is something worth fighting with tax payers money.
Let’s hope they fight for their beliefs, rather than to win more votes in next year’s election.
Just last week we heard some exciting news - President Obama will be attending the Copenhagen climate meeting beginning in just a few weeks. Well every silver lining has a cloud it seems, as it turns out he will be the bearer of bad news – he says it’s too late to reach a legally binding deal on how to prevent runaway climate change.
Green Energy Republic suggested a while back that the meeting should be postponed until something useful can come out of it. Obama is now supporting the Danish government’s call to re-purpose the meeting as establishing a “framework” for a deal, and that the legal deal date should be pushed back to 2010. The proposal was put forward by the Danes in an unscheduled meeting of 19 leaders (let’s call it an emergency meeting, in the spirit of optimism and hope that leaders are taking this business seriously) held in Singapore. Obama’s sound bite of the week was that we should not let the "perfect be the enemy of the good". Ah, climate change averted.
In one sense this is utterly pathetic. The international community has had ample time to prepare for this meeting, and yet all that has ensued is political stalemating.
On the other hand this is by far the most sensible option at this stage. To try and rush a legal agreement with huge debates unresolved and the US climate bill not even through the Senate could produce a fatally flawed document that nations would abandon very quickly.
Even to those of us feeling frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations, there are signs that the world is moving sluggishly towards a more unified vision, and that the crucial relationship between China and the US is a lot warmer than a year ago. At a meeting today between Obama and China’s president Hu Jintao positive noises have come out about at least setting emissions reduction targets in Copenhagen.
Copenhagen should be a diplomatic parliament used to get as much of the world as possible drawn towards a unified vision. The legalities should be ironed out next year.
For those who disagree, consider this: Five years ago, if an international meeting was called to deal with climate issues, and leaders weren’t ready to negotiate, would the delegates have considered stalling the meeting? No. They would have cobbled something useless together and ignored it. By delaying the meeting, leaders are acknowledging that it is worth delaying, and that they need to be prepared.
UK Climate Denial
What couldn’t have come at a worse time, is the recent poll labelling the UK as a bunch of climate deniers. The Times has reported that less than half the population believes human activity is responsible for climate change, and 15% of us believe the world is not warming. This is not the kind of thing Ed Miliband wants to be reading on a Monday morning, just weeks away from the meeting where he is supposed to be fighting for a strong climate deal, especially as he has pledged to fight on despite the above proposal. The government has tried, and seemingly failed to convince their voters that global warming is something worth fighting with tax payers money.
Let’s hope they fight for their beliefs, rather than to win more votes in next year’s election.
Green Energy Republic
A Good Energy blog
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