World leaders will have a difficult time as ever getting a reasonable deal on cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, especially after the end of the United Nations climate summit.
Together with U.S. President Barack Obama, more than 100 world leaders promised to find a global agreement that would efficiently address climate change. These leaders took center stage yesterday in order to point out how intensifying cyclones, flooding, hotter heat waves and rising ocean levels were threatening their nations.
However, despite speeches and pledges, world leaders left an important matter unaddressed: how they intend to resolve their longstanding differences in order to secure an agreement on cutting emissions by the end of 2015 (the deadline agreed upon during the U.N. summit).
“The key, difficult negotiating issues for the new international agreement are all still before us now. We can only succeed in combating climate change if we are joined in this effort by every nation — developed and developing alike. Nobody gets a pass,”
Peter Ogden, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington stated during an interview.
President Obama insisted that large developing countries such as India, China and Brazil, would also be required to reduce their emissions, exactly as rich nations promised to. After negotiations came to an abrupt halt at the Copenhagen UN meeting of 2009 and after the 1997 Kyoto treaty wasn’t adopted by the U.S., analysts were now eager to see what China and the U.S. could offer, as the two countries account for 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
On the other hand, developing countries have asked rich nations to contribute billions of dollars to help them boost renewable energy sources and reduce their gas emissions. While some countries have pledged to aid these countries in developing such energy sources (President Francois Hollande, for instance, promised to provide $1 billion; Germany too has made a similar pledge), many other nations haven’t promised any contributions.
These discussions on climate changes inside the United Nations followed marches and protests by more than 300,000 people through Manhattan on the 21st of September. Al Gore, former U.S. vice president, Sting, Leonardo DiCaprio and even UN leader Ban Ki-Moon were among the protesters.
In a statement, Ban told reporters that protesters had
“asked me to bring their voices into the halls of the United Nations, and that’s what I’ve done.”
Several companies have pledged their support in the worldwide campaign of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions after the UN summit. Statoil ASA (STL) joined five more companies aiming to limit methane emissions from its oil production. The Ikea Group and Swiss RE (SREN) Ltd. have also promised to phase out the use of fossil fuel energy in coming decades.
