The Stage is Set for a Deal at Copenhagen

On December 18, President Obama will travel to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, where he will be joined by over 120 world leaders from around the globe. The heads of state will attempt to resolve the remaining issues and negotiate a political agreement to address climate change that will be codified into a binding international treaty in 2010. “For the common good, all countries should participate,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said. “This is a time when common sense, compromise and partnership should prevail . . . We do not have another year to deliberate. Nature does not negotiate.”

The three largest unresolved issues that remain are: greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets for developed countries, monitoring, reporting, and verification procedures for actions taken by developing countries to reduce emissions, and financing for sustainable development in developing countries. Other issues, such as the transfer of clean technology and on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), have already seen substantial progress at the conference. The REDD program would provide developing countries with money from carbon markets to reduce deforestation and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. In return, companies from the industrialized world would receive carbon offsets that would count towards their emission reduction requirements. On December 16, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the United States will pledge $1 billion over the next three years to the program, combining with Australia, France, Japan, Norway and Britain for a total pledge of $3.5 billion.