Luke Warm Resolution in Copenhagen 
The preliminary international consensus on the accord, which is the end result of the two week UN summit, is that it falls grossly short of the international community’s expectations to take concrete steps to dramatically curb global CO2 emissions.
Such expectations included a legally binding treaty that would require top industrialized nations to radically cut carbon emissions to combat climate change, as well as to systematically implement the use of green technologies on a global level to reduce worldwide dependency on carbon based fuels.
At the heart of Saturday’s resolution is the goal to mitigate the effects of climate change by limiting global warming to no more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial global temperatures. Critics note, however, that the agreement fails to outline just how these temperature caps are to be achieved.
The resolution also aims to pledge $100 billion annually to developing nations beginning in 2020. Recent UN estimates project that by then, combating the effects of global warming will cost the international community nearly $300 billion on an annual basis, most of which will be put to the service of poorer developing nations that fair to suffer most from rising global temperatures.
Backed by the United States, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa, the consensus failed overwhelmingly to receive majority support by the 193 nations represented at the conference. In fact, in a concluding plenary session on Friday night, the governing body only officially “took note” of the accord, making it clear that many were strongly disappointed with the end result.
Negotiations reached a low point when a number of delegates and world leaders walked out on the talks in a state of protest. A Sudanese delegate even went so far as to suggest his country will now end up facing the equivalent of another Holocaust, with millions of his fellow countrymen to be wiped out by the repercussions of increasing global temperatures.
Other critics, including leading members of the European Union, Greenpeace International, and Friends of the Earth expressed their profound dissatisfaction as well, labeling the deal as a “mockery” and “a toothless declaration”.
There were, however, those who showed their approval of the Copenhagen Accord in an effort to rally any and all nations to pledge to support the deal. UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, Danish Prime Minister and COP15 President Lars Rasmussen, and US President Barack Obama, amongst others, all articulated their approval of the agreement, noting that the world is finally taking action to combat climate change.
President Obama noted that “for the first time in history, all major economies have come together to accept their responsibility to take action to confront the threat of climate change”. Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General admitted that while the agreement does not comply with the expectations held out before the conference, it was in fact a step in the right direction.
China and the United States—currently the world’s largest contributors to global warming—managed to find some common ground, temporarily setting aside major disagreements that had kept both nations in a stalemate over climate negotiations.
Neither proved willing though to make any substantial commitments to reducing their carbon footprints. Their lack of commitment and indecision left most other countries with cold feet, which seemed to only breed skepticism amongst those in attendance. Analysts note that it was in fact this sense of distrust that led to such a middle-of-the-road consensus.
The world is now setting its focus on Mexico 2010, as UN climate change negotiations continue in an effort to combat climate change. It is uncertain whether or not the next summit in Mexico will render the international community the legally binding treaty that so many are hoping for—only time will tell.
