User:Mrchris/Copenhagen climate conference, CO2 emissions targets
{{developing}} Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15)
CO2 emissions [edit]
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The ultimate responsibility rests with the citizens of the world, who will ultimately bear the fatal consequences, if we fail to act. |  |
Both developed and developing countries presented CO2 emissions reduction targets ahead of the conference. China expects cuts of at least 40% from 1990 levels by 2020. The United States aims to cut emissions by 3% below 1990 levels by 2020, a 17% cut from 2005. European Union leaders agreed in December 2008 to cut emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2020 and by 30% if other developed nations follow suit. Russia says it will cut greenhouse gases by 22-25% below 1990 levels by 2020. Japan plans to cut emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 if the Copenhagen summit agrees to an ambitious deal. Canada's Environment Minister Jim Prentice said that a plan mirroring Obama's goal of cutting emissions by about 3% below 1990 would be met. Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has offered to cut emissions by between 3% and 23% below 1990 levels by 2020. Indonesia was the first developing country to announce a planned 1.4-gigaton emission cut of 26% of 1990 levels by 2020. Indonesia also indicated that the level of cuts could be as high as 42% with economic help.
The European Union has adopted a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels but the union will raise its commitments to 30% if other major players undertake “comparable commitments”. The Swedish Minister for Environment, Andreas Carlgren, is negotiating on behalf of the EU will have to decide what “comparable commitments” are. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown, said in a video interview with the The Guardian newspaper: "I want to create a situation in which the European Union is persuaded to go to 30%." This would mean the UK would have to achieve a cut of 42% on the 1990 levels by 2020, compared with the current British target of 34%.
News that the United States Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases endanger human health, this may allow reductions of greenhouse gas emissions without legislation from the Senate, where a bill to cut U.S. emissions by 2020 is stalled. The United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China and is the only industrialized nation outside the existing Kyoto Protocol. "This is great news and shows that the administration is committed to enforcing the Clean Air Act and addressing climate change," said Keya Chatterjee of the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Sources [edit]
- COP15 Cultural Opening Ceremony - film Please help the world (Video) on Youtube.
- COP15 Cultural Opening Ceremony - performance of Danish National Girls Choir (Video) on Youtube.
- "EU to offer poor countries billions for climate change: report" — AFP, December 7, 2009
- Ian Katz, Damian Carrington and John Vidal. "Gordon Brown: EU cuts must go deeper to get Copenhagen climate deal" — guardian, December 7, 2009
- Alister Doyle. "U.S. moves to curb emissions, aids U.N. climate talks" — reuters, December 7, 2009
- Richard Ingham and Marlowe Hood. "Copenhagen climate conference opens to dire warnings" — Google News, December 7, 2009
- Kim Chipman and Todd White. "Obama’s Climate Push Plays Catch-Up With Executives" — Bloomberg L.P., December 7, 2009
- "Copenhagen summit urged to take climate change action" — BBC News Online, December 7, 2009
- Richard Cowan and David Fogarty. "U.N. climate talks open, deal "within reach"" — Reuters, December 7, 2009
- "Copenhagen: The Main Players" — Irish Times, December 7, 2009
[([)Category:World]] [([)Category:United Nations]] [([)Category:Climate]]
