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Copenhagen Summit
The Copenhagen Summit was an international meeting addressing global climate and climate change. It was the 15th meeting between countries belonging to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. It represented the most recent attempt to form a global treaty addressing climate change. Government leaders from 192 countries met in Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 7 through December 18, 2009, to discuss cutting global emissions. The goals of the summit included developing a global framework addressing climate change, and garnering international agreement about how to combat climate change. Critics argue that the summit was not successful in achieving either of these goals. Despite hopes that the Copenhagen Summit would produce a legally binding treaty, the conference never overcame negotiating impasses and it is not legally binding. This was largely due to the differing expectations between large developed countries and developing countries.
Goal of the Summit
The main goal of the Copenhagen Summit was to update the Kyoto Protocol. The summit was also the fifth meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol was ratified by 187 members of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change and was drafted and adopted in December 1997. The Kyoto Protocol set a goal of reducing greenhouse gases for participating members by 2012. In order to do so, the protocol set emission reduction amounts for each individual participating country and allowed for emissions trading through a cap and trade mechanism. Although a member of United Nations Framework on Climate Change, the United States never formally adopted the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto protocol set differing standards for Annex I countries, or developed countries, and Annex II countries, which were defined as developing countries. The reason for the difference was an argument that developed countries had already created a lot of environmental pollution and that limiting developing countries to the same set of reduction standards would be unfair. Although the Clinton Administration did decide to sign the protocol, political leaders in the United States did not agree with dissimilar standards for Annex II countries, especially China. As a result, the treaty was never ratified by Congress.
The Copenhagen Summit provided a forum to update the Kyoto Protocol since it was set to expire in 2012 and presented a new opportunity for world leaders to reach current agreements on climate change and on emission reduction. As noted above, the action-orientated goals included producing a successor to the Kyoto Protocol and to create and international framework for global cooperation for reduction in emissions related to climate change. Each country was expected to develop a goal for reducing absolute emissions.
Product of the Summit
The product of the summit is being called the Copenhagen Accord. It is a nonbinding agreement between five countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and the United States. The other 187 countries in attendance did not sign the accord but did agree to take note of the agreement. The key tenant of the document states that climate change is one of the greatest global challenges facing the world today, and that action should be taken to moderate global temperature increases. Since the document was not signed by the majority of countries in attendance, nor ratified by those that did sign, it is not legally binding. Nor does it contain any legally binding commitments even for the five countries that did agree to a plan for reducing carbon emissions. In other words, neither developing nor developed countries are required to make any formal cuts in their emissions. Without a penalty for noncompliance critics argue that the document is nothing but political jargon.
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