Global Fund in Copenhagen should not be overlooked
By: Melissa Vargas
The unavoidable truth, is that the most economically and socially disadvantaged people are the ones that are the worst affected by climate change’s extreme weather patterns and its corollaries.
The United Nations’ climate conference in Copenhagen this month hopes to a find a new climate treaty to restore the Kyoto Protocol. Officials have 11 days to convince 192 countries to impede the growth of the global GHG emissions. Although the international goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are vital, the opportunity to establish a global fund to help poor nations fight climate change and the extreme environmental shifts that follow is of equal importance.
The unavoidable truth, is that the most economically and socially disadvantaged people are the ones that are the worst affected by climate change’s extreme weather patterns and its corollaries. Scientific estimates claim that more than 300,000 people die each year because of climate change related events. The living conditions of an additional 325 million people are significantly affected by the extreme weather patterns that have doubled in the past 20 years; more frequent and more severe rainfall, more intense heat waves and extended droughts.1 The unavoidable truth is that the most economically and socially disadvantaged people are the ones that are the worst affected by climate change’s extreme weather patterns and its corollaries. (continue reading..)
Governments, Private Sector, Unions and Environmentalists look to Copenhagen.
Filed under: Commentary, Energy, Environment, United Nations
This December, delegations from 192 countries will descend upon Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (7-18 Dec.). Regional member blocks such as the African Union and the G77 have already been having internal discussions for months. The Obama administration singled its desire to lead the dialogue, organizing three run-up meetings this summer with the group of nations called the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. The US is also expected to advance agreement amongst the major industrial countries at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh (Sept.) on what reforms to bring to Denmark this winter.
The weight of the Copenhagen Conference’s importance is punctuated by global technology and energy companies whose heavy hands are invested in the game. In May this year, the private sector held the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Denmark. While there, leaders discussed global climate change legislation and their means to influence the framework that will determine future business. Several industries such as solar, wind, geo-thermal and high performance electric batteries optimistically look forward to more business. Other industry verticals are unprepared.
The Dow Jones Clean Technology Insight, an industry analyst report cites a research study sponsored by International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) that “says that 90% of utilities around the world know they are at risk from climate change but fewer than a third said they have performed any financial review of the possible impacts on their business.
Utilities face a variety of potential problems from climate change, including shortages of water to cool plants, increased generation demand from hotter summers and power outages from more frequent severe weather, according to the report. They also face challenges as society tries to address the need to curb carbon emissions with new technologies like electric vehicles, which will increase electricity demand”. (read full coverage)
Unfortunately, the US Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry announced a new delay on climate change legislation today in Washington, D.C. An industry expert in involved in the discussions said, “Practical climate change legislation cannot hope to proceed in Denmark unless the United States has made adequate concessions to lure China and India into the same. Our trade balance actually hangs in the midst.” Green technology and energy corporations are beginning to see their interests in shaping the debate and have been sharing their priorities on Capital Hill this summer.
At the same time, the Blue Green Alliance a collaboration of six unions and two environmental groups including the Sierra Club, the United Steelworkers, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Service Employees International Union, Communications Workers of America, Utility Workers Union of America, Laborers’ International Union of North America, and the American Federation of Teachers is uniting more than six million of their members in pursuit of a platform aimed at good jobs, a clean environment and a green economy.
It will be interesting to see whether the President has something to show for his efforts in Pittsburgh.
