Climate and energy

One week from tomorrow, world leaders will gather in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference to negotiate a legally binding international treaty that would replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012 and govern individual countries’ greenhouse gas emissions.

Expectations for the talks had taken a dip recently, as the U.S. announced it would not have climate legislation passed through the Senate in time for the talks.

However, last week, both the U.S. and China committed to carbon emission reduction goals, a move which has helped resuscitate hope for a binding international treaty. On Wednesday, the White House stated that the United States will pledge in Copenhagen to cut its greenhouse gas emissions roughly 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, a drop of about 3 percent below the 1990 benchmark year used in U.N. treaties.  This target is in line with the targets set by U.S. climate legislation that has passed the House, but will be debated in early spring by the Senate.

China responded on Thursday that Premier Wen Jiabao would go to the Dec. 7-18 talks and pledge to cut the amount of carbon dioxide produced for each yuan of national income 40-45 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.

Despite the boost to negotiations that these proposals provided, the Washington Post reported yesterday that getting all 192 countries to sign on to a treaty will be a “heavy lift.”

The major issue?

1.  The U.S. and China are the world’s biggest emitters of CO2.  (Check out this interactive graphic that shows global emissions contributions)

2.  Climate change is already impacting the world’s poorest nations, and developed nations are being called upon to finance both adaptation funds for climate change impacts and funds to help poorer nations develop their economies with clean energy.  The price tag?  Up to $10billion/year.

Be sure to check back on the CEP blog as we’ll be covering the negotiations once they begin next Monday.

-posted by Eileen Horn, climateandenergy.org