Did the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference Change Anything?

Many believed that the climate conference in Copenhagen would bring new and stricter regulations to nations’ climate policies. “The summit was supposed to halt temperature rise by cutting greenhouse gases. But after two weeks of negotiating, it ended in a weak political accord that does not force any country to reduce emissions and has no legal standing,” writes Louise Gray of the UK’s Telegraph.

Some believe the struggle of the world’s leaders to come to an agreement is in fact a result of how seriously they take global warming. TIME magazine refers to the struggle as, “… a sign that global climate talks have moved beyond symbolic rhetoric.” Others believe that the balancing of interests between the countries wanting to maintain their standard of living, and emerging economies hoping to achieve such levels, is the most important reason that the summit could not result in a stronger agreement.

Many blame China and the US for the limitations of the Copenhagen climate conference. “The standoff between China and the United States underscores the issues. The global trade rivals were reluctant to commit to emissions targets until each had an idea of what the other planned. The two countries together are responsible for 40 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions,” writes the New York Times. Barack Obama admitted that accord was “not enough.” In the UN’s climate conference in Bali, the US rejected the new guidelines to reducing green house emissions. However, at the Copenhagen conference, the US took on a new role in the UN’s battle against global warming. “President Obama arrived in Copenhagen to find the summit on the verge of collapse. So, he plunged into seven hours of hard, direct bargaining with a select group of world leaders, eventually cutting a deal with those from China, India, Brazil and South Africa,” writes TIME.

On the positive side, the Copenhagen climate conference united the US, China and other major developing countries in the attempt to find a universal accord to fight global warming. “For all its limitations, however, the Copenhagen Accord is the first real step to fighting climate change in the 21st century. The real value of Copenhagen may lie in what it teaches us about dealing with climate change”, writes TIME.

Intern, Victoria Lindbak