Final Day of Negotiations

Well, it has been just about a week since we left Copenhagen, but that wasn’t the end of the negotiations. A lot has gone on this week, drawing on the same issues we saw happening at the end of the first week: developing nations and developed nations unable to see eye to eye on things. One of the interesting things I have been reading about it the fact that all along nations and the UNFCCC had spoken about the fact that the temperature rise could be no more than 2 degrees Celsius. However, over one hundred nations are pushing for no more than a 1.5 degree rise in temperatures, creating yet another divide within the negotiations. Countries in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), least developed countries, and some African countries are among the ones pushing for that 0.5 degree difference, while other nations continue to push for the 2 degree target. Apparently Apisai Ielemia, Prime Minister of Tuvalu, stated that he wouldn’t sign anything that had any temperature raise above 1.5 degrees. (Tuvalu continues to speak out strongly at the conference. Earlier this week, they had threatened to walk out.)

But even more interesting than this 0.5 degree debate is a text that was leaked some how from the Secretariat a few days ago, and the contents are quite frankly shocking. The text is a UNFCCC analysis report of the pledges and actions made by a number of both Annex I and non-Annex I parties. In the document it was found that there is a gap in the amount of gigatonnes of carbon that would be pulled from the atmosphere with the current state of pledges, and the needed amount of gigatonnes of carbon necessary to stabilize emissions. As if that is not leaving many unhappy already, one line seemes to sum up exactly what the UN has been feeling about the climate negotiations the entire time, saying that if we follow this suit of under-ambitious targets, we would be left with “an unsustainable pathway that could lead to concentrations equal of above 550 ppm, with a related temperature raise around 3° C.” Wow.

This 3 degree limit would mean even more dire circumstances for many nations in the world, like Tuvalu and other nations of AOSIS. Scientists and influential environmentalists like Bill McKibben, writer and founder of 350.org, have spelled out for years that the maximum emissions in to the atmosphere is 350 ppm or else our Earth will have passed the tipping point and we will no longer be able to bounce back. 550ppm?! Really?

This is the last day of negotiations. Nations leaders, like Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, arrived in Copenhagen within the past 24 hours. People across the world are crossing their fingers, hoping, and praying that something, just something will come out of today. Leaders have been meeting behind closed doors discussing a wide range of topics from aid to developing countries for adaptation to emissions monitoring. My fingers are crossed. Desmond Tutu was right, we the world expect a real deal.

Posted December 18, 2009 at 11:50 am by Rebecca Webster | Share on Facebook
Categories: All of Ithaca, Ithaca College, National, The World

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