Dec 7, 2009
Biggest climate meeting in history begins in Copenhagen
Today (7 December 2009), the biggest climate meeting in history begins in Copenhagen with 15000 participants from 192 nations seeking to agree on curbs greenhouse gas emissions and to raise billions for the poor in aid and clean technology. Indeed, at the the COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference, world leaders will hammer out a new framework agreement on climate change mitigation that will take force in 2012, following the end of the Kyoto protocol.
The primary scientific basis for upcoming policy decisions is the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in 2007.
To view the underlying scientific facts read our summary of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report – also available in Dutch, French and Spanish
Several related digests are available through our Climate change Theme page
addressing for instance arctic climate change, energy technologies, biofuels and CO2 capture and storage.
The Copenhagen Accord, agreed by major economies including the US and China, acknowledges the importance of the challenge and the scientific facts that call for action. It makes a commitment to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2°C.
It states:
“1. We underline that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time (…)”
2. We agree that deep cuts in global emissions are required according to science, and as documented by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report with a view to reduce global emissions so as to hold the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius, and take action to meet this objective consistent with science and on the basis of equity.”
It also makes a commitment to raise 100 billion US dollars annually by 2020 to help developing countries fight climate change. However, the accord does not specify caps on emissions to achieve that objective.
According to the IPCC 4th Assement report scenarios, to limit the global mean temperature increase to about 2 to 2.4°C above pre-industrial levels would imply that emissions stop increasing and start declining before 2015. For further details on these projections see:
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/climate-change-ar4/l-2/8-mitigation-emission-reduction.htm#5