Climate change agreement reached, but…
President Obama in Copenhagen (AP)
We are running short on time. There has to be movement on all sides.
These were the words from President Barack Obama to the 193-nation summit, as the clock was running out on its final day.
According to the Associated Press, Obama “raced from one impromptu meeting to another and made an animated plea for compromise Friday, making plain his frustration over the difficulty of pushing world leaders to settle on a plan to combat global warming.”
Unofficial word is that the United States, China, India, South Africa and Brazil have reached a climate agreement that includes:
- a way to verify reductions of heat-trapping gases
- list the actions they will take to cut global warming pollution by specific amounts
- reiteration of the goal set earlier this year on long-term emissions cuts
- a mechanism to be help poor countries prepare for climate change.
But… it’s a non-binding, unenforceable agreement.
The one saving grace in the U.S. is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently gained ability to regulate greenhouse gases. And, people of color and young people from around the world had a significant presence and played a significant role in shaping the conversation.
On the global front, however, we are still without a stronger, enforceable, binding agreement.
For more updates on the agreement, check out: UN COP15 Copenhagen, San Jose Mercury News
For live interviews, check out: OneClimate
